


Deja Vu

by Lexi_the_dragon_muse, sparkyCSI (Lexi_the_dragon_muse)



Series: The FBI Files [4]
Category: CSI: NY
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:40:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 64
Words: 122,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23077201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexi_the_dragon_muse/pseuds/Lexi_the_dragon_muse, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexi_the_dragon_muse/pseuds/sparkyCSI
Summary: Part of The FBI Files Series-Have you ever had a feeling that you've seen or done something before? It's called Deja Vu. Picks up right after chapter 51 of A Time to Heal. DannyOC, FlackLindsay, HawkesOC, MacStella...
Relationships: Danny Messer/cory reid (OFC), Don Flack/Lindsay Monroe, Sheldon Hawkes/Lydia Sanchec (OFC), Stella Bonasera/Mac Taylor
Series: The FBI Files [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/44555
Kudos: 1





	1. Disturbing Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> I obviously do not own CSI: NY. I wish I did because then Danny and Lindsay would be together already! Anyway, I do own any characters that you do not recognize. You can borrow them if you ask permission first! 
> 
> Okay, guys. Y’all have been very patient with me! Thanks for that. Here is the long-awaited 1st chapter of the sequel to A Time to Heal. If you haven’t read that, then you might want to read that and also the companion piece, Six Months, as what happened in those directly impacts this story. I’ll tell you that this one may have long update times, since I have no idea where the story is going right now! As always, please R&R. My muse loves the attention. :D

Chapter 1.

** Disturbing Dreams **

_Special Agent Corrine Reid was walking towards the subway. She was humming “The Adventure” by Angels and Airwaves under her breath. She was about to start walking down the subway steps, when she stopped and quickly reversed her direction to avoid the flood of panicked people running up the steps. Her gut told her something was terribly wrong, so she pulled out her gun and yelled, “FBI!”_

_Her yell had no affect on the panicked crowd. She saw an elderly man falter and fall to the ground and her instincts took over. Quickly she pulled the man to safety and looked at him. “Sir? Are you okay?” He nodded yes. “I’m Agent Reid from the FBI. What’s going on here?”_

_The man looked terrified and pointed towards the subway steps. “Bomb. On the subway.”_

_Cory’s heart began to pound._ Shit. This can’t be good. _She quickly pulled out her cell phone and called it in. “This is Special Agent Corrine Reid. I have a report of a possible bomb on the subway. Request immediate back up. Both local and federal agents.” She quickly gave the other agent her location and hung up the phone._

_Cory turned to the fleeing people. “FBI! I NEED EVERY ONE TO CLEAR THE STREET IMMEDIATELY! WE HAVE A POSSIBLE BOMB! CLEAR THE AREA NOW!”_

_Those people who had not been panicking before began to yell as they ran from the scene. Satisfied that the majority of people were going to be get out of the danger zone, she turned to help the people coming up the stairs. She saw a little girl, about five years old, crying at the top of the steps, crying for her mother. Sensing the danger the girl was in; she grabbed her and began to pull her to safety._

_Just as she had grabbed the girl’s arm, she felt the street rumble and reflexively turned to look down the steps. She saw a huge ball of fire making its way up the steps. She drew the child in front of her and threw both of their bodies to the ground, with herself on top of the girl to protect her._

Cory sat up in bed, a scream ripping from her throat. She gasped in great gulps of air, trying to calm her pounding heart. _What the hell was that? I’ve never had a dream that was that realistic. It felt like I was actually was there._ She drew her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead on them.

Finally, after fifteen minutes of calm breathing, she was able to get control back of herself. She looked at the clock, grateful that Danny was working the night shift. It was five a.m. “Well,” she said to the empty room. “I guess I should go ahead and get up. It’s not like I’m going to get any more sleep tonight.”

Cory started making breakfast and tried to put the nightmare out of her head. She was scrambling eggs when she heard the door open.

“ _Bella?_ What are you doing up?” Danny said as he wrapped his arms around her.

Cory turned and kissed him. “Making breakfast for you.” She smiled and hoped he bought the half lie.

Danny looked into Cory’s eyes. He saw something flicker in them, but didn’t press her. _She’ll tell me when she’s ready._ Instead he grinned at her. “Ah. What would I do without you?”

Cory laughed, relieved that Danny wasn’t going to press the issue. “You’d have any number of women making your breakfast, lunch and dinner!”

Danny scrunched up his nose. “ _Bella._ I’m hurt!”

Cory just rolled her eyes. “Just set the table.”

Danny quickly grabbed the plates and forks out of the cabinets while Cory put the food on the table. They ate quickly and once done, Danny cleaned the kitchen while Cory went to get ready for work.

While in the shower, Cory fought back the images that the nightmare had invoked. She wanted to let the images slowly simmer in her subconscious so that she could make some sense of the dream. It was while she was fixing her hair that she realized she had been wearing heavy clothes in the nightmare. She also realized that there had been snow on the street. _Huh. Why would I dream about winter?_ Cory pondered that thought while she grabbed her briefcase.

“Danny? _Cherie?_ I’m leaving for work now! I’ll see you later.”

“ _Ciao, Bella._ ” Danny walked out of their bedroom and gave her a good-bye kiss. “Stay safe and have a good day. _Ti amo._ ”

“I love you, too. I’ll see you later tonight. Do you have to work?”

“I’m on call.”

“Okay. Bye!”

(FBI Headquarters)

Cory walked into FBI headquarters in a somber mood. She was still thinking about the nightmare.

“Hey Cory!” Andrew called to her. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she did not hear him.

“Cory? Yo! Cory!”

Cory shook her head. “Sorry, Andrew. I was lost in thought. What’s up?”

“Nothing. Just wanted to say hi.” Andrew winked at her.

Cory laughed and rolled her eyes. “Hi. I’m taken.”

Andrew put his hand over his heart and sighed dramatically. “You’ve broken my heart! Tell ya what. If that man of yours ever breaks your heart. Let me know. I’ll take care of him for you.”

Cory laughed. “Whatever. See ya later.” She smiled as she walked away. Her conversation with Andrew was a morning ritual that always brought a smile to her face. She was still smiling as she walked into her office. Her smile faded as the dream came rushing back in. This was how Lydia found her.

“Cory? You okay?”

“I’m fine. Just thinking about a dream I had last night. Trying to figure out what it might mean.”

Lydia smiled. She loved to interpret dreams. “Tell Madam Lydia all about it and we can piece together what your subconscious is trying to tell you,” she said in a mysterious voice.

Cory looked at her, her frown not fading. “I’m not sure. It was really weird.”

Lydia grew concerned at Cory’s somber mood. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Cory shook her head. “I’m fine…” She was interrupted by the phone ringing. “Reid?” Hold on a moment.” Cory put the call on hold. “Lydia? I need to take this call. I’ll think about what you said.”

Lydia nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her.

(Cory and Danny’s apartment)

Danny woke up a little after noon. He stretched, letting his mind rest for a little bit. He was still puzzled by Cory’s odd behavior. He was thinking of ways that he could get her to open up to him, without pressing her too much. His cell phone ringing interrupted his thoughts.

“Messer. Yeah, Mac. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.” Sighing, he got out of bed and got ready to go to work.

(Crime Scene)

Danny strode towards Mac, his case in hand. “Whadda ya got?”

Mac looked up from the dead body. “Female Caucasian, approximately twenty years old. Single gunshot wound to the back. Large blood pool suggests that this is our primary crime scene. I want you on photos. Hawkes is going to cover the body. I’m looking for trace.”

Danny grabbed his camera and began to photograph the living room of the small apartment. “Hey, Mac! When are Montana and Flack going to get back from their honeymoon? I’m tired of workin’ doubles.”

Mac chuckled. “They’ve been gone less than a week, Danny. Suck it up. We’re all working doubles with them gone.”

Danny smiled. “Gotcha.” He bent over, concentrating on the blood pool. “Mac? Has anyone moved the body?”

“No. Why?”

“For some reason it looks unusual to me.”

“What’s unusual?” Hawkes asked from the door.

Danny glanced up. “This blood pool. There’s something off about it. I just can’t put my finger on it.”

Hawkes walked over and looked at the blood pool. He studied it carefully, and then stuck his finger in it. He brought his finger up to his nose and sniffed it. “This isn’t blood. No metallic smell to it. It smells like corn syrup. This is like the stuff that they use in movies to simulate blood.”

“Huh. So this crime scene was staged? Then this isn’t our primary crime scene.” Danny turned to look at Mac. “We still need to find our primary scene. Hawkes? Can you tell when the body was moved?”

Hawkes studied the body some more and then took her liver temperature. “Her liver temperature is 80.4 degrees. She’s been dead approximately twelve hours. Her body must have been moved after rigor mortis set in. I’ll have Sid check to see where the blood became fixed to see if she died in this position. He can also help to determine a more exact TOD when he does the autopsy.”

“Well. This does explain the lack of trace. There is no blood spatter. No signs of a struggle. She has defensive wounds on her arms.” Mac turned to Danny. “Danny. You stay here and see if you can find any trace to determine how she got here. Hawkes and I will go back to the lab to begin processing what little trace we do have.”

“Gotcha, Mac. I’ll see you back at the lab.”

(FBI headquarters)

Cory waited until Lydia had left the office to pick her phone back up. “Hey, Tim. What’s going on?”

_“Not much. Ortiz wants to meet with you again. He said at your earliest convenience.”_

“Okay. I’ll fly out tomorrow. I need some more information in order to get a warrant to raid the Martinez brothers. I’ve hit a brick wall. Do you know why he wants to meet?”

_“No. He did say be careful. He said that it would be best if you left no record that you were coming to Texas.”_

“What?”

_“I don’t know. From what his attorney said, there have been inquiries into your whereabouts. He is genuinely concerned for your safety. Cory? I’ll be honest. I don’t like the feeling of this. Something has scared him and if he’s scared…That worries me.”_

Cory bit her lip as she tried to process what Tim was telling her. “Do you think that there might be another mole?”

_“Honestly? I don’t know. Just be careful. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going or how you plan on getting there.”_

Cory thought carefully for a few moments. “Okay. I’ll have to tell Danny, but he can keep a secret. It’s going to take some planning to figure out how I’m going to get there without anyone knowing, though. I can’t leave a paper trail and I’m sure that they will be watching my friends and family to see if I end up there.” Cory caught herself thinking out loud. “Sorry, Tim. I didn’t mean to space out on you there. I’ll definitely try to figure something out. Thanks for the information. Anything else going on that I should know about?”

_“Just one thing. I’ve been offered the ADA position in New York. I’m considering it and might be moving back up there.”_

Cory raised her eyebrows. Tim had never told her why he left New York in the first place. “Really? Well, if you do, it will be nice to work with you again!” There was a knock at her door. “Tim. I gotta go. There is someone here to see me.”

_“Okay. Bye. I’ll talk to you later.”_

Cory hung up the phone and called out, “Come in!” She sighed as she got back to work.

(Crime Lab)

Danny arrived back at the crime lab about four o’clock. He was frustrated at the lack of evidence in the case. He had found no fingerprints and only a partial shoe print. He hoped that they would be able to tell if the killer was male or female once the shoe print was analyzed. 

Wearily he walked into the lab where Mac and Hawkes were processing the evidence. “Hey. Did you have any luck with the evidence that you guys collected?”

Hawkes looked up. “No. There was absolutely no trace on the body. It’s like the body was washed.”

Danny furrowed his brow at that. “So…Do we have an ID on her yet?”

Mac looked up at that. “Not yet. We’ve expanded the search to include all of the country instead of just New York. Whoever she is, I don’t think that she is a local.” Mac sighed in frustration. “We’ll know more after the autopsy. Sid was a little backed up, so he said it might be a couple of hours before he is able to start it. Why don’t you go home? We’ve done all we can right now. We just need to wait for the results of the test to come back.”

Danny nodded. “Sure thing. Call me if you need anything.”

Wearily, Danny walked to the locker room and got ready to go home. _I wonder if Cory is home yet. If not, maybe I’ll cook dinner. That way, maybe she’ll tell me what is bothering her._ With that thought, Danny walked out of the lab and towards home.


	2. Limbo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the 2nd chappie!! My muse decided to go a little philosophical during this chapter, so it’s a little bit of fluffy angst. If that makes sense. I still do not own Taylor Turner or Maddy. They still belong to Axellia. Thanks for letting me borrow them!! As always, please R&R. My muse loves the attention. :D

Chapter 2.

** Limbo **

When Cory got home that night, she was still mulling over her nightmare and the phone conversation with Tim. She was so lost in thought that she almost missed her floor. She hurriedly reached out and hit the Door-Open button in the elevator. Muttering under her breath about the stupidity of being that lost in thought in New York City, she made her way to her apartment door.

Outside of the door, she sniffed the air appreciatively and smiled. _Danny’s cooking._ With a lighter heart, she opened the door. “Danny?”

“In the kitchen!”

She walked into the kitchen and drank in the sight of a handsome man puttering around, making dinner. “It smells good. You didn’t get called in?”

Danny turned around and winked at her. “Yeah. But I figured since you went through all the trouble to make me breakfast, the least I could do was make you dinner.”

Cory laughed, feeling her heart lighten even further. “You are absolutely the best boyfriend ever. What did I ever do to deserve you?” She walked over to him and gave him a kiss.

Danny groaned and then lifted his head. “Let’s see. You kicked the ass out of a madman who was trying to kill me? That was a good start.”

“Whatever. If it wasn’t for me that particular madman wouldn’t have been after you in the first place. What are you cooking?”

“Fettuccine Alfredo. Caesar salad and garlic bread.”

Cory’s stomach growled on cue. “Oh. I’ll set the table. Thanks.”

After dinner, Cory curled up on the couch. “ _Mon chere?_ ”

Danny stuck his head out of the kitchen. “What’s up?”

Cory looked down at her hands. “Can I talk to you about something?”

“ _Bella?_ You can talk to me about anything. What’s wrong?”

Cory drew in a breath. “I know. Just promise not to get mad. Okay?”

Danny nodded, his stomach knotted in uncertainty.

“I had this dream last night. It was awful. I was on my way to work and when I got to the subway, there was panic. An old man running up the steps said that there was a bomb on the subway. I called it in and then tried to clear the area. I had just reached for a little girl when the sidewalk rumbled. I turned to look down the steps and a huge fireball was coming up. I grabbed the girl, threw her down on the pavement and myself on top of her. Then I woke up.”

Danny drew her into his arms. “Sweetheart, that’s awful. But it’s just a dream.”

Cory looked up to him. “That’s not the part where you’ll get mad. I’ll get to that in a little bit. But this wasn’t just a dream. It felt so real. I’ve never had a dream that felt so real before. I think…I think it was more than a dream. I think it was a premonition. Remember when we were in the hospital...after Ortiz?”

Danny nodded his head.

“Taylor’s friend, Maddy, said that there was a reason that I could only see spirits and not hear them. She implied that when the time was right, I would be able to hear spirits as well. She said that I was very special and that’s why The Powers That Be allowed James and Michael to cross back over. I have a feeling that this has something to do with this.”

“Okay. I remember talking with Taylor and James’ message to me. That is what convinced me to believe in spirits.”

Cory smiled. Her friendship with Taylor had grown over the last eight months. The woman had helped her overcome losing two of her close friends. “I’m glad. That’s why I was up this morning. I woke up screaming and decided not to go back to sleep.”

Danny hugged her. “I’m sorry, _bella._ That must have been awful.”

“Yeah. My day just got worse, though.”

“What do you mean?”

Cory drew out of Danny’s arms and looked down at her hands. “I got a call from Tim today.”

Danny felt his heart pound. “Ortiz.”

Cory nodded. “He’s requested a meeting. But he wants me to make sure no one knows that I’m going to see him. He seems scared for my safety. That worries me. I know he’s a madman, but he’s always been concerned for my welfare. Strange, huh?”

Danny looked thoughtful. “Darling. That worries me. What’s got him spooked?”

Cory shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Danny struggled with emotions that filled him. He wanted to tell her not to go, but he had learned his lesson and knew that he had to let her work. He noticed that she was still looking at her hands. _“Bella? Mi amor?_ I’ll tell you that I’m not happy about you still seeing him, but I understand and I won’t stand in your way.”

Cory looked into his eyes and saw the love and concern filling them. “Thanks. I promise that you will know when I leave. I just don’t know how I’m going to get to Texas without anyone knowing.”

Danny smiled. “If I know anything it’s how resourceful you are. You’ll find a way. That much I know for sure.”

Cory sighed in relief. She had expected him to fight her on this, but was glad that he did not fight on her on it. “So, you said that you got called in?”

Danny chuckled. “Yeah. Weird crime scene. It was staged. Everything was staged…including fake movie blood. I thought I’d seen everything.”

“Really? Fake movie blood? I’ve never run across something like that before.”

“Yeah. I’d better go finish cleaning the kitchen. You okay now?”

“I’m better. I’m going to take a hot bath and then hit the sack.” With a saucy wink, Cory sauntered out of the room.

When she got into the bathroom, she poured her favorite bubble bath in the tub and lit some candles. She knew that she still needed to unwind after her stressful day. Calmly, she pinned up her long hair, so it wouldn’t get wet and disrobed.

She sighed as she slipped into the hot water; her tense muscles began to relax. She leaned back in the big tub, closing her eyes and clearing her mind. Her next conscious thought was of Danny standing over her, trying to wake her up. “Hey, baby. Did I fall asleep?” 

“Looks like. Come on, let’s get you to bed.” Danny held out his hand and helped her out of the bathtub. While she dried off, he grabbed her Cowboy’s jersey that she always slept in and then slipped it over her head.

Cory smiled at him. “You’re the best.” She tried to say more, but a yawn overcame her. “Sorry. It’s been a long day.”

Danny just nodded and tucked her into the covers. He softly kissed her cheek. “Sleep well, _bella_. I’m going to go catch then end of the game and then I’ll be in.”

Cory nodded sleepily. “Kay. Night.” She snuggled into the covers and was soon fast asleep.

_Cory opened her eyes and saw a field of bluebonnets. She smiled, feeling the warm sun beat down on her. She looked down and saw that she was barefoot and wearing a light summer dress. She heard a bird call and looked up. She saw a man standing in a shaft of sunlight, but with shadows across his face. “Who’s there?”_

_The man just stood there. Curious, Cory began to walk closer to him and finally saw his face. “Armando?”_

_The man nodded, but still did not say anything._

_“What’s going on? Where am I?”_

_“You’re in Limbo,” a female voice behind her answered._

_Cory turned quickly. “Maddy?”_

_“Hi, Cory.”_

_“What are you…what am I doing here?”_

_“I’m simply a vessel for you to communicate with The Powers That Be. As for why you’re here…That’s a long story.”_

_Cory looked thoughtful. “If this really is Limbo, then time doesn’t matter. Whatever time spent here does not affect the material world.”_

_Maddy laughed. “You are too smart for your own good. You’re right. Time has no bearing here. But I will make a long story short. Armando has been spending the last eight months in Purgatory. He is trying to atone for the sins he committed while trying to bring Ortiz down.”_

_“What kind of sins?”_

_“The worst one was murder. Although he did try to find away out of committing many of the crimes that Ortiz wanted him to, he still had to commit some in order to entrench himself into the gang.”_

_Cory closed her eyes. “Oh, God. Armando, why? We would have caught him somehow.”_

_Maddy looked at Cory. “Cory, you can’t change the past. The reason you are here is because The Powers That Be have decided to give him anther chance to atone for his sins.”_

_“Really? What can I do?”_

_“Armando is going to be your liaison with The Powers. You are entering a period that is going to be very tenuous. They believe that you could use the extra help. He will also be able to help you communicate with any spirits you see, since you will only be able to hear him. This is provided that you are willing to have him.”_

_“Of course. Anything I can do to help.”_

_Maddy smiled. “I thought you’d say that. I’ll leave you two to talk things out.” Maddy turned and began to walk away. A couple of yards away, she turned. “By the way! You can talk to Taylor about this. She will be able to see and hear Armando. She can help you through the process.”_

_Nodding, Cory turned to Armando and noticed that his clothes had changed to a white suit. “Oh, Armando. Why didn’t you tell me what you were doing?”_

_“Hey, Cory. I’m sorry. With hindsight, I know that I should have, but I didn’t want you to get hurt.”_

_“And me finding you and Michael murdered was not going to hurt me? Come on, Armando.” Cory rolled her eyes in exasperation._

_“Cory. I didn’t mean to wind up dead. I just got a little careless. My only regret is that Michael got involved. I didn’t want to involve him, but I needed someone to pass the information to.”_

_Cory felt herself tear up. “C’est la vie.”_

_Armando smiled. “I see your sense of humor is intact. Look. You need to wake up now. Your boyfriend is about to come into your room and…”_

_Cory felt herself blush. “Whatever. We’re in Limbo. Time doesn’t matter.”_

_Armando laughed. “Time may not matter, but we can talk later. I promise. I’m not going anywhere. Got spend some time with your man.”_

_“Fine. Fine. I’m going. Will I remember all of this?”_

_Armando nodded and began to walk away from her. Cory took that as her hint and turned to walk away, then realized that she had no idea where to go. “Armando?” She turned, but he had already disappeared. “Okay. I’ll just stand here. Maybe I’ll wake up or something.”_

Cory opened her eyes, just as Danny opened there door. She noticed that he was trying to be quiet and almost laughed at him. “ _Chere?_ I’m awake.”

Danny turned. “I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”

Cory nodded no. “Nope. I just had a really good dream.” She sighed as Danny slipped into bed. “Ya know what? I’m not the least bit tired now.” She got a mischievous glint in her eye. “Do you know of a way to pass time?”

Danny’s only answer was to begin to kiss her as he slipped a hand up under her shirt.

Cory exhaled softly as his hand brushed up her ribcage, trailing slowly towards her breasts. Cory groaned as Danny began to nip at her earlobe, electric shocks moving through her.

Danny moved back a bit, quickly divesting her of the jersey, while staring down at her body. Cory’s hands on his own shirt drew him out of his admiration. “You’ve got too many clothes on,” she muttered.

Danny just grinned as he quickly shed his remaining clothes.

Cory smirked in awe at the way his body responded to her but didn’t lay idly. She grabbed his arm, bringing his body down into contact with her and drew him into a lazy kiss. The kind of kiss that sets your body on fire. She felt him pressing his hardness into her side as his hands began to wander down her body, leaving goosebumps in his fingers wake. She sighed softly as his fingers grazed the sides of her breasts.

Cory’s own hands weren’t idle. They were tracing a path down in back, caressing him, drawing him closer to her. Finally, one hand circled around to the front of his body, to find him hard and eager for her touch. She caressed him softly, bringing deep moans from within his throat until he threw his head back and stopped her ministrations.

Quickly, Danny maneuvered himself, lowering his hips into hers, grinding himself against her, teasing her with his tip that kept hitting her bundle of nerves.

Finally, she cried out in release as she fell over the edge and while her body was still convulsing, he buried himself in her.

Cory saw stars as her release was taken to the next level with the sensation of being filled by him. She wrapped her legs around him, urging him on with whimpers and moans until he thrust one last time and flew over the edge himself. As they lay there, gasping for breath, she looked down at him, loving filling her eyes and a sense of completion coming over her. Snuggling together, they both drifted off to a sated sleep.


	3. Meanwhile Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the 3rd chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. Okay. I decided to go back a bit and let y’all in on what Flack planned for their honeymoon! This gem of a chapter came to mind while I was eating lunch! As always, please R&R. My muse loves the attention. :D

Chapter 3.

** Meanwhile…Part 1 **

****

Flack and Lindsay hurried their way through the birdseed being thrown at them. They waived at all the well wishes being yelled at them. Once at the limo, they laughed as they shook the birdseed out of their hair and clothes.

Flack reached for the bottle of Austi Champagne and poured them both a glass. “So, Mrs. Flack. Are you ready for the honeymoon?”

Lindsay looked at him, with desire smoldering in her eyes. “Yeah. But the question is…Are you?”

Flack felt his body react at the obvious lust in her voice. He groaned in his head at the thought of the long plane ride ahead. “More than ready.”

Lindsay winked at him. “So…are you going to tell me where we are going now?”

Flack grinned evilly. “Not until we get to the airport. I’ve had fun planning this. You do have your passport, right?”

“Aw. Come on. Can I get a hint at least? Please. Please. Please?”

Flack chuckled at the whining voice she was using. “Good things come to those that wait.”

Lindsay sighed dramatically. _If you only knew. I wonder if I should wet his appetite._ “Of course, darling. Just like don’t you wonder what I’m wearing under my travel clothes?”

Flack groaned out loud this time. _She’s going to be the death of me. But what a way to go!_ “Are you trying to kill me?”

Lindsay responded cheekily, “What a way to go!”

It was almost three a.m. when the limo pulled to a stop in front of JFK International Airport. They had stopped at their apartment and gotten their things and then stopped for breakfast. The limo driver got out and opened the door for them. Flack got out first and extended his hand to help Lindsay out. The limo driver retrieved their luggage and followed them into the airport.

Once through the airport security, the made their way to the international departure gate. Lindsay looked at Flack. “Don. Am I going to find out now?”

“Nope. But we do have a few hours until the plane leaves, so why don’t you try to catch some sleep? I know you’ve been up longer than I have.”

“You’re so good to me.” Lindsay laid her head on his shoulder and was soon fast asleep.

About seven a.m. Flack decided to wake Lindsay up. “Linds. Time to wake up.” He softly touched her cheek and she slowly began to wake up.

“What time is it?”

“Almost time for the plane to board.”

“Kay. I’m awake. Really.” Lindsay yawned after she said that.

Flack looked down at her. _She’s so adorable when she’s sleepy._

Just then, the airport announcer called for boarding for the Air France flight direct to Charles De Gualle International Airport in Paris. Lindsay looked at Flack in surprise. “We’re going to Paris? We’re going to Paris! Oh…I’m speechless.”

Flack smiled as he looked into her shining eyes. “Was it worth the wait?”

Lindsay’s only response was a kiss that curled his toes. She said nothing else as they made their way onto the plane.

Once they sat in their seats, Lindsay pulled the blanket that she had grabbed out and laid in over both of them. She smiled tiredly as she laid her head back on his shoulder and pretended to drift off to sleep.

Flack smiled contently as he wrapped his arm around her and closed his eyes as well. It was a seven hour flight and he needed to get some sleep. He didn’t drift off to sleep until after the plane had taken off and their flight leveled out, but soon afterward, he was sleeping deeply.

Lindsay raised her head and saw that he was deeply asleep and resolved to let him sleep for a couple of hours. She reached into her purse and pulled out a book and began to read.

A few hours later she shut the book, feeling her body tingling from the author’s explicit sex scenes and grinned. She rearranged herself and the blanket and reached under it, lightly stroking Flack’s cock.

He was still deeply asleep, but she heard him sigh softly as he angled his body more towards her. She grinned as his body responded; the fact that they hadn’t had sex in a week was making her job easy. 

She grinned as a naughty thought entered her head. She grabbed her purse and made her way to the bathroom. Once inside, she did two things. One, she opened a condom and hid the wrapper in a wade of tissue that she put in the trash and then she got out a panty liner and slipped that on, knowing that if Flack responded the way she hoped he would, she didn’t want any evidence on her clothes. Grinning, she made her way back to their seats, grateful that they were at the back of the plane with no one else around them.

Deftly, she unfastened his pants and parted the fabric to give her easier access. He was half hard now and growing more so every second. Before he woke up, she quickly slipped the condom on him and then resumed her strokes. She leaned over and breathed into his ear, “Don, wake up.”

Flack was having the most pleasant dream when he heard Lindsay telling him to wake up. He struggled to open his eyes and when he did, he realized that he wasn’t just having a dream. He held back a betraying moan of pleasure and he felt himself grow completely hard. “Lindsay,” he uttered lowly. “We can’t do this.”

Lindsay smiled as leaned over again. “Oh yes we can,” she whispered. “You just have to be quiet. Can you do that?”

Flack moved his hand to cover hers, to stop her ministrations and realized that he was sheathed in a condom. He turned to her, his eyes wide with realization. He saw her smiled as her stokes sped up. “Come for me, Don,” she said, her voice husky. “You don’t know how wet it’s making me to feel you so close to coming in public.” She moaned softly, so softly that he was the only one that heard it. 

Flack felt himself growing closer and then she switched positions. Her right hand moved to pump him, but her left moved and began to fondle his balls, squeezing them lightly. He bit his lip trying to silence the moan that was in the back of his throat, but was unable to stop his hips from rising.

Lindsay knew that they didn’t have a long time until a flight attendant came walking down the aisle, so she increased the pressure on both his balls and shaft and looked him straight in the eyes. “Don,” she said quietly, but forcefully. “Come for me, now.”

Flack looked at her and felt the extra pressure and had no choice by to comply with her demand. He felt himself come and moved his hips lightly to prolong the sensation. When he finally collapsed, spent, he looked at her in amazement. “God, that was the hottest thing I’ve ever had done to me.”

Lindsay smiled as she moved fully back into her seat. “I have moist towelettes in my bag if you want to clean up,” she offered.

Flack nodded as he fastened his pants again and accepted the small travel size bag from her and slipped it into his pocket. He quickly made his way restroom and quickly cleaned himself up, amazed that he was still half hard with desire. _Lord, I don’t think I’ve ever recovered this quickly,_ he thought as he finished his business and then grinned at his thoughts turned to revenge.

Back in her seat, Lindsay was rubbing her legs together, feeling herself flushed with desire. When Flack settled back into his seat, she smiled at him, not wanting to pressure him into returning the favor. She wasn’t surprised when he pulled the blanket back over them.

Flack leaned over, slipping his hand between her legs, feeling the heat there. Lindsay parted her legs immediately, needing something to relieve the pressure. “How long do we have until the flight attendant comes back?” he asked quietly.

Lindsay smiled. “She walked by while you were gone, so at least ten to fifteen minutes,” she replied, arching her back slightly as his palm applied a little more pressure.

Flack grinned as he quickly unhooked her pants and slipped his fingers underneath the fabric. “You’re so wet, baby,” he whispered as he caressed her mound with his fingers. Lindsay didn’t answer; she was concentrating on not making any noise. He felt her trembling and parted her nether lips with his fingers, his thumb resting on her clit and his fingers seeking her gushing opening. Easily he inserted two fingers, feeling by the way she was clenching that she was already close to her orgasm. 

Lindsay closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing as Flack’s fingers began to thrust in her. She bit her lip as she felt herself get close, but he denied her release by easing the pressure on her clit. She whimpered a bit in protest, but he just leaned over to whisper. “Payback, my love,”

Lindsay arched her back and spread her legs as wide as possible in the narrow seat. “Please, Don,” she pleaded.

Flack saw the torture on her face and decided to comply with her wishes. He moved his thumb back over her clit and slipped a third finger inside of her while rubbing figure eights over her flash point. He watched as she pressed her lips together and her face flushed red. 

Unable to hold back much, she began chanting softly, “God, yes. Right there. Oh…” And with a final caress, her body stiffened and arched into Flack’s hand as her world shattered. He stroked her gently through the aftershocks of the orgasm and when she opened her desire dilated eyes, he saw satisfaction.

“Now, I think I can go back to sleep,” she muttered as she watched Flack licked his fingers. “God, that’s hot, Don.”

Flack smiled. “Just wait until we land,” he promised her.

\----------------------------------

Seven hours later, the plane touched down in Paris. Both Lindsay and Flack were refreshed and more than ready to make their way to the hotel. Flack was thinking about how Lindsay has teased him on the plane and he was frustrated. He wanted to do nothing more than rip her clothes off on the plane, but had managed to keep his cool.

They stopped outside of the airport and waited for a taxi. Lindsay turned to Flack. “Wow. I can’t believe that we’re in Paris. France. I mean. Us. Here! This is so…wow.”

Flack looked at her. “I know. But I know that you wanted to visit here and so I thought this was the best place to come. When else will we be able to visit?”

Lindsay just kissed him right as the cab arrived.

Once in the cab, Flack spoke to the driver. “Hotel Nuilley Park, please.”

“ _Oui, Monsieur.”_

The drive to the hotel was relatively uneventful. Once there, Lindsay waited while Flack checked them in. He turned to her and followed the porter to the elevator. “I love you, Mrs. Flack.”

Lindsay batted her eyelashes. “I love you, too, Mr. Flack. God, I can’t wait to be alone.”

Obviously, Flack had the same idea. As soon as they got to the room, he opened the door. Lindsay went to walk in, but Flack stopped her. “Wait.”

“Don?”

“I want to do this right.” Flack quickly scooped her up in his arms and carried her over the threshold. While Lindsay went to freshen up, Flack tipped the porter.

“Don! Come in here. This room is amazing!”

Flack smiled as he walked into the bedroom. Even he was amazed. There were dozens of red roses in vases around the room and many white candles that were lit. The flickering light created a romantic atmosphere.

Lindsay turned around in the room. “Wow. This is unbelievable. I can’t believe that you did this for me.”

“Only the best for you, sweetheart.”

“Okay. I’m going to go slip into something a little more comfortable. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”

Flack decided to get ready. He took off his jacket and unbuttoned part of his shirt. Then he opened the bottle of champagne that had been left on ice and poured two glasses. He heard the bathroom door open and turned around.

When Lindsay walked out of the bathroom, she saw Flack pouring the champagne. She waited while he turned around and smirked at the look of astonishment that appeared on his face. She tried to make her voice husky. “Like what you see baby?” _This is well worth the money that I spent at Frederick’s of Hollywood._

Flack felt his mouth go dry as he tried to respond verbally. He finally gave up and put the glasses down. He quickly walked over to Lindsay and pulled her into a crushing embrace, then claimed her lips with his own. _This was definitely worth the wait._

\----------------------------------

The following morning, Lindsay woke up to the feeling of Flack softly stroking her skin. She smiled. “Good Morning.”

Flack smiled. “Good morning. Wow. If I died right now, I’d be a very happy man.”

“So was it worth the wait?”

“Hell, yeah!”

“So what are we doing today?”

“How about going to the Eiffel Tower?”

Lindsay opened her eyes. “That sounds good. I guess I’d better get dressed then.”

Flack stroked her skin. “That can wait a while. I seem to have a small problem right now.”

Lindsay groaned in pleasure as he pressed her hips into his. “Then we’ll just have to take care of that, then. Won’t we?”

\----------------------------------

A few hours later, when they had finally managed to leave the bed, Flack and Lindsay had a guidebook in hand and were walking towards the Eiffel Tower. Both of them stopped and looked up in wonder at the magnificent landmark. “It’s so much more amazing that what you see in movies or on television isn’t it?” Lindsay commented.

“Yeah. It reminds me of The Empire State Building in that regard. Let’s get into line.” Lindsay followed Flack as he led her to one of the four lines underneath the tower. Once they had made it to the head of the line, Flack withdrew some Euros and paid the attendant. They had decided to go to the top level.

The elevator was crowded, but Lindsay didn’t mind. It gave her a reason to snuggle into Flack’s side. Once the elevator was at the top, the step out. Lindsay gazed over the city. “This is amazing. Look at the view of the city!”

Flack looked at the view. The part of the tower they were looking at overlooked a huge stretch of manicured lawn. “I wonder what that is.”

Lindsay looked at where he was looking. “Let’s see. According to Cory that is the _Champs de Mars_. I think she said that it used to be a military training ground. Isn’t it beautiful, Don?”

Flack looked down. “Not was beautiful as you are, sweetheart.”

Lindsay just blushed. They strolled to their right and stopped to look at the _Seine_ _._ “Look. I wonder if we are on the left or the right bank.”

Flack looked at the river. “We’re on the right bank. The left bank is where the arts district is. We’ll have to visit down there. Where else do you want to visit?”

“ _Notre Dame,_ the _Louvre_ , _L’Arc du Triumph, Versailles_. Oh. I also want to see Jim Morrison’s grave!”

“You’ve got to be joking. Jim Morrison? Why?”

Lindsay rolled her eyes. “Come on, Don. He was the lead singer of The Doors. When else will we be able to visit a famous grave!!” 

Flack looked at her. She looked so eager to go out and explore. He sighed. “Fine. But if we go see Jim Morrison’s grave then we are going to _Moulin Rouge_.”

“Fine! I agree.”

Lindsay turned back to look over the Parisian skyline, reveling in the fact that she was with the love of her life in the most romantic city in the world. She sighed as Flack draped his arm around her shoulders and started stroking her shoulder. “Don?”

“Uh-huh?”

“If you keep that up, we’ll have to go back to the hotel and I’m kinda hungry.” Lindsay glanced into Flack’s eyes and saw them darken in desire. “Never mind. We can order room service. How fast can we get back to the hotel?”

Flack lowered his head and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. “Let’s see,” he whispered as his lips grazed her ear.

Lindsay shuddered as she felt desire course through her and quickly followed him to the elevator.


	4. New York in Summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves the attention. :D

Chapter 4.

** New York ** ** in the Summer **

****

When Danny woke up the next morning, he smiled down at Cory. She lay snuggled in his arms, sleeping peacefully. He looked at the clock and sighed. It was six a.m. and he knew that Cory needed to get up to get ready for work. He softly stroked her cheek. ” _Bella?_ Come on, sweetheart. It’s time to get up.”

Cory murmured in her sleep. “Just five more minutes, please?”

Danny smiled. “Come on. You’ll kill me if I let you oversleep. Come on baby, wake up.”

Cory frowned as she began to wake up. “Okay. Okay. I’m awake. Is it morning already?”

Danny laughed. “Yes, _bella._ It’s morning.”

“Damn. I’ll let you have the shower, I’ll go make coffee.”

“Okay.”

Cory crawled out of bed and made her way to the kitchen. She started the coffee brewing and decided to cook some eggs for breakfast. By the time Danny was out of the shower, breakfast was ready and Cory had drunk a Dr. Pepper to wake up. When Danny walked into the kitchen, she smiled. “Breakfast is ready.”

“I’m getting spoiled! Breakfast two days in a row?”

Cory smiled. “It’s only fair. You cooked dinner last night. I want the sports section of the paper first.”

Danny pretended to mope. “But, honey. I’m a man. I need to be up to date on all the sports facts.”

Cory just snorted. “Okay. Who watched the end of the game last night? You. I need to find out how bad the Texas Rangers are doing.”

Danny conceded the argument and they quietly read the paper while they finished breakfast. While Danny was picking up the dishes, he turned to Cory. “So have you thought about how to get to Texas, yet?”

Cory paused. “Not really. I’m going to think about it today. If I come up with something, I’ll let you know. I’d better go get ready and then we can leave for work.”

\----------------------------------

As soon as Danny walked into the lab, he was ambushed by Hawkes. “Danny! We have another case. Fits the same description of our dead girl at the staged scene. Mac wants us there ASAP.”

“Okay. Let me get my gear and we’ll head out.” Quickly, Danny grabbed his gear and met Hawkes at the SUV.

\----------------------------------

When Danny and Hawkes walked into the crime scene they were both surprised. Danny looked at Hawkes. “Man, this is eerie. Am I going crazy or is even the furniture the same?”

Hawkes looked around. “I think your right. I’ll check the body.”

Danny nodded. “I’ll check for trace and photograph everything.”

“Well. The blood is fake. Just like the other murder.”

Danny just grunted and continued to look for trace. _This just gets stranger and stranger._

\----------------------------------

When Cory got to her office, she began to make a list of ways that she could get to Texas undetected. She knew that she could not fly or take a train. That would leave a paper trail. _Huh. I wonder if I could rent a car. No, wait. You have to have a credit card to rent a car. Thus a paper trail. Damn. I could borrow a car. Then take a roundabout car ride there. It would take come extra time, but it would be worth it._

The first list she created was one of possible friends that she could borrow a car from. Once that was created, she looked it over. She had lots of friends listed from New York. Then an idea hit her. _I know. I can ask Rebecca to borrow her car. I can go to California under the pretense of visiting my family, then borrow her car and drive to Texas. It will only take two days to drive to Dallas from there. Hell, I could do it in one if I really had to push myself. Now I just need to call her and set it up._

Satisfied that she was heading in the right direction, she put aside her list and went over her emails to see if any new information had come up on the Martinez Brothers. Glancing through them she noticed one from Lydia. She opened it up, smiled and picked up her phone. “Hey, Lydia. I would love to go to lunch with you.”

_“I’m glad. I want you to tell me more about that dream you had. Plus, Sheldon and I were wondering if you and Danny want to go on a double date with us?”_

“We’ll talk about it at lunch. I promise. You want to go to that little Mexican place?”

_“Yes. I’ll come by your office at noon. Be ready!”_

Cory agreed and hung up her phone. Scanning her other emails, she sighed in frustration. The Martinez Brothers were still MIA. She thought that it was a real possibility that they had gone to Venezuela. She had some contacts in Interpol and was trying to track them down through that. Unfortunately, she had not received a response from any of them yet.

She decided to follow up with those contacts. Quickly she typed up a few emails requesting an update. Satisfied with her progress, she decided to look over the files that Lydia had dropped off to her. She was trying to get a good trace of money for the Martinez Brothers. Soon she was deep in thought while trying to put all the pieces of the complex puzzle together.

\----------------------------------

When Danny and Hawkes got back to the lab, they quickly split up and dropped off their evidence in trace. Both of them walked into the computer lab to see if they had gotten an ID on the first victim yet.

Danny arrived first and looked at the lab tech in the room. “Hi, Rachel. Have we gotten an ID on the first victim?”

Rachel, who was a serious looking blonde, looked up at Danny. “Hi, Messer. Which victim was that?”

Danny tried to lay on the Messer charm. “You know. The staged murder?”

Rachel smiled. “I know which one you’re talking about. I was just kidding. But, no. We haven’t gotten an ID on her yet.”

“Damn. We have another body. She’s the same physical type as the first victim. Female Caucasian, approximately twenty years old, blonde hair. I hope we can ID her. Maybe that will help us find some commonalities. Sid said that he would get her fingerprints and some DNA to see if we can find out who she is.”

Rachel said that she would try her best as Danny left the room.

\----------------------------------

Lydia dropped by Cory’s office at exactly noon. “Hey, girl! Ready for lunch?”

Cory looked up. “God, yes. I am so hungry. It seems like breakfast was a really long time ago. But, I’ve got a lot accomplished.” Cory grabbed her purse and followed Lydia out of the office.

Within a couple of minutes, they were at a little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant, not far from their offices. They munched on chips and salsa while trying to decide what to eat. Finally, they both decided on enchiladas.

Lydia looked at Cory. “So. Tell me about this dream you had.”

Cory sighed. “It started out in the future. Sometime during the winter. I was walking towards the subway, when a wave of people ran out from the stairwell yelling about a bomb on the train. I had just pulled a little girl to safety when the ground trembled. I looked down the tunnel and a ball of fire was racing up it. I threw myself on top of the girl and then woke up. It was really strange. It felt real. It felt like it really happened.”

Lydia looked puzzled. “It felt real? Have you ever had a dream like that before?”

Cory shook her head. “No. Not like that.”

“That is really weird.” Lydia paused while the waitress put their food on the table. “I don’t know what to think about that. Maybe it’s just your anxiety on what information Ortiz has been giving you.”

Cory nodded while she swallowed. “Maybe. Anyway. Changing subjects. How are you and Sheldon doing?”

Lydia blushed. “Really good. I think I’m ready to take the relationship to the next level. He’s just being too much of a gentleman so I think that I am going to have to seduce him. Any suggestions?”

Cory furrowed her brow. “Well, let’s see. I got Lindsay and Flack together. If I remember correctly, the first time that they had sex it was after we had gone out dancing. Danny and I didn’t get together until the night before I went back to Texas. Why don’t we all go out the night after Lindsay and Flack get back? I can take y’all to Trace.”

“God. I love Trance!! We had so much fun there last time.”

“Yeah. It’s good to have connections. Let’s see. Lindsay and Flack are getting back on Friday, so we can go out on Saturday.”

“That sounds great.”

“Cool. I’ll set it up. I don’t know what Stella’s schedule is, but I know that Danny if off that night. What about Hawkes?”

“As far as I know, he’s working the day shift and then goes on call at six am on Sunday.”

“Then it shouldn’t be a problem for at least six people being there.” By this time, the women had finished eating. “Well, we should really get back. I’m hoping to hear back from some of my Interpol contacts today. I hope someone has an idea of where the Martinez Brother’s are.”

Lydia sighed. “I know what you mean. Seriously. With both of us working on this, we should have found them by now!”

“They’re just slippery.” Cory grabbed her purse and with Lydia began the walk back to her office.

\----------------------------------

Danny was sitting in the break room, eating lunch, when he got a page. He looked up a Hawkes, who had just walked in. “Rachel has our results. Ready to go see her?”

Hawkes just nodded. “You go ahead. I’ve got to grab a bite to eat before I fall over.”

Danny just nodded and walked out of the room. Within minutes, he was back in Rachel’s lab. “Whadda got for me?”

Rachel smiled. “I have an ID on the second victim. Her name is Carolina Pierre. She’s an exchange student from France.”

“Exchange student? Interesting. I’ll see if we can get anymore information on her.”

Armed with the new information, Danny walked back to the break room. “Hey, Hawkes! I think that we may have caught a break. The second victim was an exchange student from France. I know that Cory has some contacts over there, so I’m going to see if she can do us a little favor and get some more information on her.”

Hawkes looked up from his sandwich in surprise. “Sounds like a plan to me. Do we know where she was going to school?”

Danny looked through the paperwork that Rachel had given him. “Looks like it was NYU. Why don’t you grab Angell and go ask around the campus. I’ll call Cory and she what kind of information we can get from the officials in France.”

Hawkes stood up and threw his trash away. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll catch you later.”

Danny nodded and walked back to his office. He smiled as he picked up the phone and dialed Cory’s office number. 

_“Reid.”_

“ _Bella._ How are you doing?”

_“Hey, Danny. I’m doing okay. How are you?”_

“Good. I think I might have caught a break in my case, but I need your help.”

_“Good. What can I do?”_

“We have a second victim that was staged just like the first one. The plus on this one is that we have an ID. Her name is Carolina Pierre. All we know is that she is a NYU exchange student from France. I was hoping that you could help get some more info on her.”

_“I should be able to help, but it will have to be tomorrow. I can send the emails out tonight, but France is six hours ahead of us, so I won’t get any responses back until tomorrow morning.”_

“Well, she’s not going anywhere. We have the time.”

Cory just laughed. _“While I have you on the phone, I was talking to Lydia today. How about we all go out Saturday to Trance? Flack and Linds will be back.”_

Danny thought about it. “Sounds good to me. It’s been a while since we all went out together. I’ll try to convince Mac and Stella to come out with us.”

_“Okay. Hey, I gotta go. My other line is ringing. I love you.”_

“I love you, too. See you at home tonight.”

_“Bye.”_


	5. Meanwhile Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves the attention. :D

Chapter 5.

** Meanwhile…Part 2 **

****

Flack and Lindsay woke up about six am the day after they had visited the Eiffel Tower. They smiled at each other in bliss. Flack was the first to speak. “So what do you want to do today?”

Lindsay looked up at him. “Let’s go to the _Louvre_. I just can’t wait to see all the masters.”

Flack nodded. “I think we can manage that, but how about breakfast in bed first.” He reached over Lindsay and picked up the phone. He quickly ordered breakfast for them and then lay back down in the bed. He was content just to lay there with her in his arms.

Thirty minutes later, he got up to the knock on the door. Lindsay had fallen back asleep. He smiled when he opened the door to the waiter and motioned for him to stay quiet. The waiter smiled and pulled the cart in as quietly as possible and quickly set up the breakfast.

Flack smiled as the man finished. He tipped him and then locked the door behind him as he left. Quickly, he put a plate of food together for Lindsay and went back to the bedroom. He set the plate down on the nightstand and leaned over to murmur in Lindsay’s ear. “Linds. Sweetheart. Wake up. It’s time for breakfast.”

Lindsay slowly opened here eyes. “Did I fall back asleep?”

Flack smiled. “Yes. That’s fine. We were rather busy last night.”

Lindsay blushed. “I smell coffee.”

“Stay right here.” Flack turned and handed Lindsay the plate and a cup of coffee that he had made here. “Here ya go.”

“You are the best. What did I do to deserve you?”

Flack got a serious look. “You helped me put myself back together after the bombing. I love you.”

Lindsay smiled and looked deep into his eyes. “I love you, too.”

\----------------------------------

A few hours later, Flack and Lindsay stood outside of the glass pyramid entrance to the _Louvre._

Flack looked up. “Wow. This is amazing and we haven’t even gotten inside yet!”

Lindsay smiled. “I know. I’ve seen the pictures from when Cory came here. She has some amazing pictures of this pyramid. She told me that if she ever came back to Paris that she would spend a whole week coming to the _Louvre_ because there are so many masterpieces here.”

While they had been talking, they had paid for their tickets and entered the museum. Both stared in wonder at the sheer amount of ground they had to cover. Lindsay looked down at a brochure she had picked up. “Wow. It says here that they have more than thirty-five thousand works of art here. They cover all periods in art history. Where do we start?”

Flack looked down. “I’ve always wanted to see Egyptian art.”

Lindsay looked down and pulled out a map of the museum. “Okay. From what I can see here, Egyptian art is located on the ground and first floor. Renaissance paintings are on the first floor. So I say we start on the ground floor and work our way up.”

Flack nodded. “Sounds like a good plan.”

They made there way down to the ground floor. They slowly walked towards the Egyptian Antiquities section. Slowly they walked into the room and were amazed at the different variety of artwork. There were sculptures, paintings, jewelry and ceramic pottery. Lindsay stopped and looked at some earrings. “Wow. Don, look at these. Look how tiny these are. And it’s so intricate! How do you care something that small?” The earrings she was looking at were about as tiny as her little fingernail. They looked to be jade and were intricately carved in the form of a scarab.

Flack looked down. “I have no idea.”

They slowly continued their journey. They passed a large statue of Ramses II. It was larger than life and carved with hieroglyphs. Flack was amazed. “This is amazing. I’ve never seen something so…I don’t have the words.”

Lindsay nodded and replied in a hush voice, “I know what you mean. They were doing carvings like these three thousand years ago. Makes your life seem insignificant, doesn’t it?”

Flack nodded. They decided to walk around the Egyptian artifacts some more.

A couple of hours later, they had made their way towards the Renaissance paintings. Flack looked at Lindsay, who was getting restless. “You okay?”

Lindsay looked up to him. “Yeah. I just really want to see the _Mona Lisa_.”

Flack looked up. “So do I. It is the most recognizable painting in the world.”

Slowly, they made their way through the crowd and soon were entrenched in a throng of people that were surrounding the famous painting. They waited patiently and soon were in the front row.

They stood in awe of the perfection of the painting. Lindsay turned. “Wow. Don, it’s amazing. Look at it. Wow.”

Flack looked down at her. “I agree. How about lunch and then we can walk around the city?”

Lindsay smiled. “Sounds like a plan.” They turned to leave. “Don? Thank you for doing this. I love you.”

Flack looked into her eyes. “I love you, too. I would do anything to make you happy.” He took her hand and they began to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is complete, I will be uploading 5 chapters at a time every couple of days to get it all uploaded quickly.


	6. Answers are good, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who kudo'd this. As always, please R&R. My muse loves the attention. :D

Chapter 6.

** Answers are good, right? **

The next day, Cory walked into her office, ready to work hard. She had a good feeling that she would be getting answers to her questions today. She also was going to call Rebecca to see if she could set up her little ‘vacation’.

When she sat down, the first thing that she did was open up her email. She was eager to see if she had any responses from her Interpol contacts. She glanced over the names in her email and noticed a couple of responses for Danny. She was about to click on one of those emails when a new email came in. It was from David, her Interpol contact for South America.

So she clicked on that email and began to read. As she read the email, a smile crept across her face. Finally, after she was done reading, she picked up her phone and called Lydia.

_“Hey, Cory. What’s going on?”_

“I have good news! The Martinez Brothers are in Venezuela.”

_“Really! That’s great! Now we can get them.”_

“Well, not exactly. We don’t have enough evidence to actually charge them with anything. It just makes me happy that I know where they are.”

_“You’re right. It is a huge relief. What’s going on with your other contacts?”_

“Not much. I’m getting a lot of, ‘We’ll get back to you’. That’s frustrating. I have faith that it will come together. It’s just going to take a lot of work.”

_“That’s true. Are we on for Saturday?”_

“Yup. Everyone will be there. Listen, I’d better let you go. I’ve got some info for Danny that I need to get to him.”

_“Okay. I’ll talk to you later.”_

Cory hung up the phone and then opened up her emails from her contacts in France. She smiled as she read the first one from Jean-Pierre. _Only Jean-Pierre would reply to an email written in English in French._ Cory mentally rolled her eyes as she read the email.

Then, she picked up the phone again and called Danny.

_“Messer.”_

“Hey, sweetie. I’ve got some info for you about your DB.”

_“Shoot.”_

“She’s from Paris. She just came here last summer. She was an international business major and has no previous crime hits. The only reason that they found her prints in the system was because her parents had her printed when she was in primary school. Good, middle class family. I’m going to have my contact see if someone can contact her parents.”

_“Well, that was helpful,”_ Danny said sarcastically.

“Don’t be an ass. It’s all preliminary info. I’ll get some more.”

_“Any chance you can forward me the email?”_

“I can, but you won’t be able to read it. It’s in French.” Danny just groaned. “I’m sorry, sweetie. Do you want me to look into the other girl? Maybe your perp is only going after foreigners.”

_“Huh. I hadn’t thought about that. If you could do that, I’d love it!”_

Cory smiled. “Sure thing. Email me the info and I’ll forward it. I’d better go. I’ve got work of my own to do!”

_“Ti amo, bella. Ciao.”_

“ _Je t’aime._ I’ll talk to you tonight. Bye!”

Cory chuckled as she hung up the phone. Before she could even take a breath, it rang again. “Reid.”

_“Hey, Cory. It’s Rebecca.”_

“Hey! I was just thinking about you. What’s up?”

_“I was wondering if you could come out here for a couple of days. I need some help.”_

Cory thought for a moment. “Sure. What’s going on?”

_“David is having surgery today and I need someone to stay with the kids tomorrow morning while I go to the hospital.”_

“He’s having surgery? What happened?”

Rebecca laughed. _“He broke his leg playing rugby and they are putting a metal rod in his leg.”_

“Ouch. That’s gotta hurt.”

_“Yeah. He’ll be fine. I just don’t have anyone available to help me out tomorrow. Thursday, yeah, but not tomorrow.”_

“Sure, honey. I can fly out tonight. I’ll call you and let you know when I get in. I have something I want to talk to you about anyway. I’ll call you when I have more details.”

_“Okay. Thank you so much! I’ll talk to you later.”_

Cory quickly hung up the phone then got online to purchase her airline ticket. Then she called Agent Michaels and let him know that she was taking some emergency personal time. She told him that she would take her laptop and try to check in whenever possible. He told her that it wasn’t a problem and to be careful.

Then she left work and went back to her apartment to pack a bag so she could go to the airport. While she was packing, her phone rang. “Reid.”

_“Why aren’t you at work?”_

“Hi, Danny. My cousin’s husband is having surgery tonight and she needs my help. I’ll be back by Saturday. I left a more detailed explanation in writing. I’d love to talk more, but I gotta get to the airport. I’ll call you tonight!”

_“Bye.”_

Cory quickly grabbed her bags and left for the hospital.

\----------------------------------

Danny hung up the phone after talking to Cory. “Huh. I wonder what’s going on.”

“What’s going on with whom?” Hawkes asked.

“Cory. She just left to go visit a cousin but she didn’t tell me where she was going. She just said that she would be back by Saturday. I hope everything is alright. Anyway, she got some info on our vic, but there wasn’t much to go on. She did make an interesting point. Maybe vic number one is also not an American. She said that she would send out the inquiry today and she if she could get any hits.”

“You have a really smart girlfriend. Meanwhile, since both of these cases are cold, Mac wants us on a B&E over on 42nd.”

“Let’s go.”

\----------------------------------

Cory got into LAX airport about four o’clock. She saw Rebecca waiting for her. She rushed over and gave her a hug. “Hey, girl.”

Rebecca looked tired. “Hi. Let’s get back to my house before the kids decide to blow it up.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s just been a long day. So what did you want to talk to me about?”

Cory drew in a breath. “I have a favor to ask you. I need to borrow your car to drive to Texas.”

“What?”

“I need to go to Texas to meet with an informant, but not leave any trace that I was actually there. I can leave here tomorrow after you get home and I’ll be back on Friday night.”

“When are you going to sleep?”

“I’ll manage. Please?”

Rebecca thought about it a second. “Alright. I’ll be home about three tomorrow afternoon.”

“Rebecca, you are the best. I don’t know what I would do without you. Listen, I need to borrow your landline phone for a quick call to New York tonight. I have to let Danny know what’s going on. I kinda left him hanging.”

Rebecca laughed. “Speaking of Danny. How’s it going with you guys?”

Cory smiled. “Good. Really good. I’m so much in love with him. We just compliment each other perfectly. I haven’t felt this way about someone since James.”

“Really? Wow. Can I see a picture of him?”

Cory looked stunned. “I haven’t sent you a picture?”

“No. Come on girl, we’re related and you’ve been holding out on me? That’s not right.”

Cory blushed. “I’m sorry! I thought that I had sent you a picture. Give me a second.” Cory scrolled through her cell phone. “Here. This is one of us together. I have more, but they are saved on my laptop, so I can show you more when we get to your house.”

Rebecca raised her eyebrows when she glanced at the picture. “Wow. He’s gorgeous.”

“I know,” Cory said with a twinkle in her eye.

“Thanks. Just rub it into my face.” Both women laughed at that and spent the rest of the drive discussing their significant others.

\----------------------------------

Danny got home a little after eight that night. He walked into the dark apartment with a sense of loneliness. The first thing that he did was walk into the bedroom to change. Lying on the bed was a letter addressed to him. He opened it and began to read.

_Danny,_

_I’m sorry that we didn’t get a chance to discuss this in person, but things kind of happened quickly. I had been planning on calling my cousin Rebecca in California to see if I could borrow her car to drive to Texas. Then this morning, she called me. Her husband David broke his leg pretty severely and is having to have surgery. So I’m flying out today so I can take care of her kids tomorrow. Then tomorrow afternoon, I’m going to drive to Texas and see Ortiz. I should be back by Saturday morning at the latest. I’m going to pick up a disposable cell phone in California, so that way I can talk to you on the way to Texas. That way my cell can’t be traced. I promise to call you about ten your time tonight and we can talk some more. I’m going to call from Rebecca’s landline._

_I’m sorry I just left in a hurry. I really didn’t mean for it to happen this way, but this was too good to pass up._

_I love you._ Je t’aime, mon couer.

_Cory._

Danny put down the letter and took his glasses off. He sighed. _Damn. I hate Ortiz. Is it so bad to wish that he was dead? I hate having to go to bed without her. I don’t sleep near as well._ He sighed again and sat down on the bed. He decided to go take a shower and then wait for Cory’s call.

\----------------------------------

At almost ten on the dot, Danny’s phone rang. “Messer.”

_“Mon chere. I’m sorry that I just left like that.”_

“I understand. You didn’t have a lot of time to make the decision and you did what you needed to do. I will miss you.”

_“I know. I’ll miss you, too. Listen. Here’s my disposable cell phone number, 213-555-1624. Only call me on that from a landline. I don’t want anyone tracing the call.”_

Danny frowned. “Aren’t you being a little paranoid?”

_“Maybe. But I’m just being careful. I have a bad feeling about what Ortiz is going to tell me. I’d rather be safe than sorry. Maybe I’m just picking up on the vibe that I got from that dream. Oh! Speaking of dreams, I totally forgot to tell you that I got a visit from Taylor’s friend, Maddy.”_

Danny raised his eyebrows. “Um. Okay.”

_“Come on, Danny. I know you don’t truly believe in all of this stuff, but I do. So cut me some slack.”_

“Okay.”

_“Anyway. I’m going to have a spiritual guide, like Maddy. It’s Armando. He’s trying to atone for sins that he committed while in the gang. From what they both told me, we are entering a turbulent time period where I will need the guidance. I don’t know what to think about that.”_

“I don’t know either. Just be careful.”

_“I will. I’d better let you go from this line, although if you want I can call you from my cell now. There is one thing that we haven’t tried yet.”_

Danny was confused. “What are you talking about?”

Cory laughed huskily. _“What are you wearing?”_

Danny looked shocked as he caught her meaning. “Oh. Um. Sure. I’ll call you back.”

_“No. I’ll call you. Talk to you in an hour or so, chere. I love you.”_

“I love you, too. Bye.” Danny hung up the phone and looked down at his traitorous body. _It’s going to be a long hour._

\----------------------------------

Almost an hour later on the dot, Danny’s cell phone rang. He picked it up almost instantaneously. “Cory, you have no idea how much you left me hanging,” he said without preamble.

Cory just laughed. _“Good things come to those who wait,_ chere,” she muttered huskily as she lay down on the bed. _“How hard did the thought of me whispering naughty things over a phone line make you?”_

Danny groaned as her voice got lower and huskier. He settled back on the bed, his cock already aching. Quickly, he shifted his head, cradling the phone between his ear and his shoulder and his hand roamed down his clothed chest to squeeze himself through the fabric of his pants. “More than you know, sweetheart. I’ve had a miserable last hour.”

Cory laughed lightly. _“You and me both, darling. It was so hard to sit through dinner and then I had to beg off saying that I was exhausted so I could go to bed.”_ She sighed lustily. _“Even though I have no intention of sleeping for quite a bit.”_

Danny smiled as he parried her early question. “So what are you wearing?”

Cory smiled as she quickly stripped off shirt and slacks. _“That lacy red bra and panty set that you love so much.”_ She sighed in pleasure. _“I’m so wet for you right now, baby,”_ she drawled out and her hands caressed her breasts letting out a moan.

Danny smirked and decided to play with her. “Are you touching yourself, Cory?”

_“Yes,”_ she breathed as she tweaked her nipple again.

“Did I say that you could touch yourself?” he shot back smirking to himself.

Cory moaned as she felt him taking charge of the conversation. _“No,”_ she said as she rested her hands on the bed. _“I’ll do whatever you tell me, Danny.”_

Danny bit his lip as he quickly shed his clothes and looked down at his rock hard member. Lightly he grasped it, stroking himself softly. “Run your hands over your breasts, lightly and do not touch your nipples,” he ordered.

Cory whimpered as she complied, running her fingers over the lace.

“Take off your bra.”

Cory sighed appreciatively and quickly threw the scrap of red lace on the floor. _“Now what?”_ she queried as she rubbed her legs together, trying to get some friction to ease the rising tension in her body.

Danny spread his legs a bit to ease his pain. “What would you want me to do if I were there?” he asked her and was rewarded by a whimper.

_“I’d want you to run your tongue over my breasts, licking, nipping my skin as my hips arched into yours, grinding against your cock,”_ she breathed as she was rewarded with a moan from him. _“Then you would take my nipple in between your lips, suckling me slightly,”_ she continued as she wet her fingers and then tugged her nipple, letting out a gasp. _“God Danny, I wish you were here.”_

Danny listened to her gasps of pleasure, feeling each breathy sigh cause a jerking reaction. Consciously, he slowed his hand down, wanting to wait until she reached her peak before letting go. “What would you want me to do if I could only touch you with my hands?” he encouraged her.

Cory shuddered and scenarios ran through her head. Smirking, she decided to give him a taste of his own medicine. _“Your hands are running down my body, teasing me,”_ she said as her hands began to do what she was describing. _“You brush the edge of my panties, feeling their wetness. I urge you to change positions, so I can reach your cock and I wrap my fingers around it, squeezing lightly.”_

Danny moaned as he followed her instructions and she continued, _“You’re so hard; I can see how much your holding back with me, being gentle and you fingers brush my panties again. I lift my hips, begging you silently to remove them and you do. Your fingers brush my curls, teasingly light, just brushing me.”_ Cory arched her back, her voice almost a whisper between her pants of desire. _“You push your finger lightly into me, not entering, but gathering my wetness before dragging it up to my rock hard clit, which is aching. You’re teasing me now; dragging your finger around my clit, not touching it.”_

Cory felt herself arch off the bed as she followed her own instructions and heard his moan of lust. _“I start to stroke you faster; I want to see you come. Come for me Danny,”_ she instructed him, wanting hear him moan out is orgasm before she brought herself to her peak.

Danny bit his lip, holding himself back. “I’m rubbing your clit right now, flicking it with my finger, seeing your hips rise off the bed as I plunge two fingers in and out of you. I hear your gasps of pleasure as you start to shake, your muscles tightening around my fingers.” He felt himself start to fly over the peak. “God, Cory. I’m coming,” he groaned. “Come with me, baby,” he begged as his cock twitched in his hand.

Cory whined as she felt herself clench around her fingers, wetness rushing down them. _“God! Danny!”_ she called out, trying to be quiet as she rode out her orgasm. As her breathes slowed down, she sighed. _“Wow. We need to try that in person,”_ she drawled with a lap.

Danny just chuckled as he felt himself deflate. “I love you, _bella._ ”

Cory smiled. _“I love you, too. I’ll see you in a couple of days,_ chere,” she whispered before finally hanging up the phone.


	7. Meanwhile Part 3

Chapter 7.

** Meanwhile…Part 3 **

****

Lindsay and Flack woke up Friday morning feeling both excitement and sadness. It was their last day in Paris. Their plane was leaving at 8 pm.

Lindsay smiled at Flack. “Did you have a good time at _Moulin Rouge_ last night?”

Flack smiled. “Of course. You are the best wife ever.”

Lindsay laughed. “Hey, I was curious, too! Ever since I saw the movie, I’ve wondered what the real _Moulin Rouge_ was like.” Lindsay stretched her arms above her head. “Let’s go to _Versailles_ this morning. Then we can come back to the hotel and pack.”

Flack got out of bed. “I have a better idea…”

Lindsay interrupted him. “Don, I want to see _Versailles_. As much as I love you, I’m not spending my last day in Paris in bed!”

Flack rolled his eyes. “Give me a little credit, Linds. I was going to say, let’s go ahead and pack. We can checkout, leave our bags here and then we can have more time to explore.”

Lindsay looked at him. “Okay. I’m an idiot. That sounds like a good idea. Now I just need to get the energy to get out of bed.” She looked at Flack with desire smoldering in her eyes. He caught the look and immediately bent his head to kiss her.

A couple of hours later, they were all packed and the hotel had stored their luggage. Soon they were on their way to _Versailles_ _._

They soon arrived at the palace. Quietly they waited in line for the tour to begin. Once they were on the tour, both were amazed at the flagrant display of wealth that the palace held. It was filled with master works of art and many things that were made of gold.

One of the first stops on the tour was the famous Hall of Mirrors. Flack stopped and looked amazed. “Wow. These mirrors are huge!”

Lindsay glanced at the floor to ceiling mirrors. “I know. Think about how much these mirrors would have cost back in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Just trying to calculate that amount that it would be in today’s money is mind boggling.”

Flack nodded and began to catch up with the rest of the tour group. They continued the tour and soon were by Marie Antoinette’s bedroom.

Lindsay looked at the bedroom, which was decorated in red and gold. She turned to Flack, her eyes wide. “Don. I would be afraid to walk in here, much less sleep! Look at that statue. It’s gold! Wow.”

Flack smiled down at her. “So you’re saying that you don’t want me to buy you a gold statue?”

Lindsay rolled her eyes. “Please, like we could afford one. Not on the salary of a public servant.”

Flack laughed. “I don’t know. I might be able to come up with something.”

Lindsay looked up and saw the twinkle in his eyes. “Yeah, sure. I’ll wait with bated breath.” She paused as they walked outdoors into the gardens. She drew in a breath. “Oh, wow. Can you imagine the parties that were held here?”

Flack looked around. He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. It’s nice, but it’s to…I don’t know the word for it. Sterile, maybe?”

Lindsay cocked her head. “Hmm. I see what you’re saying. It is very organized and precise. I prefer the wildness of nature. Of course, I am from Montana. Even Central Park is a little too manicured for me.”

“Exactly! Although, I do like Central Park. That’s because I’m a native New Yorker. Not a transplant like you are.”

“Hey! Is that an insult?”

Flack shook his head. “Nope. Just a fact. That’s alright. I love you anyway.”

Lindsay lost her battle with her laughter and began to laugh uncontrollably. She finally sat down on a bench and bent over, tears streaming down her face. “Sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I guess I’m just happy.”

Flack decided not to say anything. He put his arm around her instead and just sat back to enjoy the day. They sat there for about thirty minutes before Flack decided to move. “Have we gotten the guys anything?”

Lindsay sat up in a flash. “Oh, my gosh! We’ve been here for almost a week and we haven’t gotten anyone any presents!” She stood up and tugged at his hand, encouraging him to stand up. “Come on! We need to get the presents bought before we need to leave for the airport.”

Flack got up, resigned. “Okay. Hold your horses. I’m comin’. I’m comin’.” Flack grinned as he stood up. “I honestly don’t know what to get the guys.”

Lindsay laughed. “That’s why I’m here. I’ll help you pick something up. Although, I have a fairly good idea that you’ve already gotten Danny’s present.” She shot him a sly smile at that jab.

Flack tried to play dumb. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Lindsay giggled. “Then I’ll just pretend that I didn’t see you in the gift shop at the _Moulin Rouge._ What did you get Danny, anyway?”

Flack cleared his throat and looked away. “Um. Nothing. Really, nothing.”

Lindsay raised her eyebrows. “Why don’t I believe you? But, I’ll leave it alone, as long as you will let me shop for the girls by myself.”

Flack took a long look at Lindsay. He noticed a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “Do I want to know?”

She shook her head. “Nope. It would probably be best if you didn’t know. What you don’t know can’t kill you. Just give me an hour by myself and I’ll get all the shopping done.”

Flack nodded his head in agreement. “Then you’ll help me shop for the guys.”

With everything settled, they walked hand in hand towards the front of _Versailles_ , to head back into the city.


	8. Clandestine Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cory heads to Texas to talk to Ortiz

Chapter 8.

** Clandestine Meetings **

When Rebecca got home from the hospital, she looked in on Cory and her kids. She smiled. Two of her kids were snuggled up against her. All of them were fast asleep. Her oldest son, Nathan was watching cartoons on the television. “Nathan,” she whispered.

He turned around. “Hi, Mom.”

“How long have they been asleep?”

“Um. Right after lunch. We were watching Sponge Bob.”

Rebecca raised her eyebrows. “Wow.” She turned to Cory. “Hey, Cory. Time to wake up!”

Cory opened her eyes. “Hey, Rebecca. What time is it?” She carefully moved off of the couch to stretch, trying to avoid waking the children up.

“It’s a little before three.”

Cory nodded her head. “How’s David?”

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Being a big baby. I mean, come on! He’s on morphine for Christ’s sake! How much pain can you be in?”

Cory just laughed. “You know that men are just big babies when they are hurt or sick. Cut him a little slack.”

“I will. Do you have to go now?”

“Yeah. That way, I’ll be in Texas by tomorrow. I can crash for a couple of hours, go see my informant then drive back. I should be back by Saturday morning. Then, I have my return flight at 10 a.m.”

“Seriously. When are you going to sleep?”

Cory smiled. “I just did.” She saw the look on Rebecca’s face. “I’ll crash for a couple of hours after I meet with the informant. I’ll probably leave Texas around seven a.m. Friday morning.”

“Okay. Just be careful.”

Cory waived goodbye to everyone as she left. Twenty hours later, she was pulling up to a small motel outside of Houston. She wearily paid in cash for the room and went take a shower. Thirty minutes later, she was on her way to the prison.

About five p.m. she was at the prison, checking in. She watched as Ortiz walked in. “Ortiz.”

“ _Chica._ How are you?”

“I’m fine. What was so urgent that I had to go all James Bond to get here?”

Ortiz looked at her, concern in his eyes. “The Martinez Brothers have put a hit out on you.”

Cory laughed. “That’s all. I kinda already figured that they would do that.”

“There’s more. Your life is valued at ten million dollars.”

Cory raised her eyebrows. “Wow. They really want me dead. Still not surprised.”

“That’s not all. They have called in Antoine Frasier. They don’t have the power to do that. They have some major backing here. They’ve tried to call in Antoine on other hits, but he would not work for them. I honestly think that they are fronting this hit for someone else.”

“Ya got a name?”

Ortiz looked away. “I have a suspicion. The only person that they have that kind of credit will is Javier Montoya. He’s the leader of the Los Dios cartel. He’s the only one with enough power to pull this off. From what I heard, they are not stopping at just you. They will go after your friends and family, too.”

Cory sat there, shaken. _Javier Montoya? He’s big time. He’s completely out of our range. I have no way to monitor him. Why would he want me dead?_ Cory looked up and saw Antonio standing behind Ortiz. She looked at him, a question in her eyes.

Antonio looked at her and smiled. “He’s telling the truth. Ask him why Javier would try to kill you.”

“Ortiz? Why does Javier Montoya want me dead? I’m not even working with the agents that are trying to shut him down.”

Ortiz sighed. “They’ve gotten in to more than drugs. Word on the street is that they are trying to bring down the American economy. What better way to do that, then domestic terrorism? I honestly think that they are working with some outside interests in trying to…for lack of a better word, fuck us over.”

Cory felt her anger rise. “So those sorry SOB’s think that by getting me out of the way it will open the door. Why would I leave America vulnerable?”

“I don’t know. I wish I could tell you.”

Cory stopped for a moment and looked at Antonio who said, “He’s telling the truth. More things are going on here than he knows. He’s just one piece of the puzzle.”

Cory nodded and exhaled. “Okay. I’ll work on the information that I have. I’ll try to figure out this puzzle. Do you have anything else?”

Ortiz smiled. “No. Go get some sleep. I bet you drove straight here, with no sleep.”

“How did you know?”

“My love. I watched you for seven years. I can tell when you haven’t been sleeping well.”

Cory repressed a shudder at the memories that his comment raised. “I’m leaving now. No more clandestine meeting, okay?”

Ortiz nodded and got up to leave.

Drained, Cory made her way back to the hotel. It was a little after nine when she got back. She laid her head down on the pillow and within minutes was fast asleep.

Cory woke up at six a.m. the next morning and quickly got ready to leave. She decided to stop for a good old fashioned Texas breakfast on the way out of Houston. When she was halfway through her breakfast, her cell phone rang.

“Hello?”

_“Ciao, Bella!”_

“Hi, honey. How are you?”

_“I’m good. Did you get what you went there for?”_

Cory smiled. She knew that he was trying to be careful. “Yes. I’ll tell you all about it when I get home.”

_“Good. As much as I like what we did over the phone, it just wasn’t the same. I miss you.”_

“So do I. So do I. I’ll be home tomorrow. Then I plan on crashing until we go to Trance.”

_“Good.”_ Cory heard a cell phone ring in the background. _“I’d better go. That’s Mac._ Ti amo, Bella.”

“ _Je t’aime._ I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Cory smiled as she hung up the phone. Quickly, she finished her breakfast and left.

\----------------------------------

Danny smiled as he hung up the phone. Then he picked up his cell phone. “Yeah, Mac. What’s going on?”

_“Danny. We have a third victim that fits the description of the serial case that you and Hawkes are working.”_

“Really?”

_“Yeah. Third and Broadway.”_

“Got it Mac. I’ll be there in ten.”

\----------------------------------

Danny walked up to crime scene, kit in hand. “Hey, Hawkes. What’s going on?”

Hawkes looked up from the body. “Danny. Looks like the same as the other two. Staged scene. She’s blond, college age. It all fits. I don’t like this, Danny. Whoever is doing this is smart. Smart enough to not leave any evidence.”

Danny nodded his head. “He is consistent, though. Relatively the same amount of time between murders. Let’s get everything back to the lab. Maybe we can get an ID on her.”

Hawkes nodded. “So, have you heard anything about our first vic?”

“Naw. Cory’s not able to check her email right now, so hopefully I’ll learn something when she gets back.”

Hawkes looked at Danny. “You miss her?”

“A little. That’s alright. She’ll be back tomorrow and then we all get to go out.” Danny realized something when he said that. “Did you hear?”

“Hear what?”

“Stella convinced Mac to come out with tomorrow. I’m trying to wrap my head around the thought of him in a techno club.”

“Mac? In a techno club? I can’t wait to see that!”

Both guys started laughing as they tried to bring that picture in their heads.

\----------------------------------

Cory pulled up in front of Rebecca’s house about six a.m. She wearily got out of the car and stretched to pop her back. Sighing in relief, she felt her muscles stretch. She smiled as Rebecca walked out of the house.

“So? How was your trip?”

“Informative. Listen. I know that this won’t make sense right now, but be careful for a while. There are some…evil men who want me dead. I think that they might come after my family.”

Rebecca grew concerned. “You really think that we will be targeted?”

Cory shrugged her shoulders. “I honestly don’t know. I just want you to be careful.”

“Okay. I will. Have you eaten?”

“Yeah. A couple of hours ago. I could use come coffee, though. Then I need to leave for the airport.”

The two women walked inside and decided to talk for a bit before leaving for the airport.

\----------------------------------

When Cory got off the plane in New York, she saw Danny standing there, holding a bouquet of yellow roses. She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so glad to be home.”

Danny just smiled and bent his head to capture her lips in a kiss. “I’m glad you’re home, too,” he said as he lifted his head. “You look exhausted.”

“I am. Take me home. I need sleep. Lots of sleep, so I can go out with y’all tonight.”

Danny laughed. “We’re not going out until 10. That gives you a good four hours of sleep and two to get ready.”

Cory nodded, her eyes closing briefly. “Kay. Let’s go.”

Danny picked up her suitcase and they walked out of the airport hand in hand.


	9. The Cat’s out of the bag

Chapter 8.

** The Cat’s out of the bag **

It was eight p.m. when Danny decided to wake Cory up. He walked softly into the bedroom and carefully sat down on the bed. “ _Bella?_ It’s time to get up.” He shook her shoulder. “Come on, darling. If you want to have time to get ready for the club, you need to get up.”

Cory opened her hazel eyes and stared into Danny’s blue ones. “Hi. What time is it?”

“Almost eight.”

Cory groaned. “Okay. I’m getting up.” She sat up and rolled her head. “Wow. I don’t remember getting home.”

Danny laughed. “There’s a good reason for that. You fell asleep in the car. I carried you up.”

“Thanks. I need to go take a shower. Oh! I forgot to tell you. Stell, Linds and Lydia are coming over at nine. We are supposed to get ready together. I think that they are bringing the guys, so y’all can have some good guy time while we get ready.”

Danny just nodded. “Okay. I’ll go make sure everything is guest ready.”

Forty-five minutes later, Cory was out of the shower and trying to dry her hair. “Uh. I swear I’m going to cut it all off one of these days!”

“Cory? You okay?”

Cory jumped and dropped her hair dryer. “Jeez, Danny! Give a girl a little warning before you come up on her.”

Danny just started laughing. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you. You just sounded frustrated.”

Cory rolled her eyes. “I am. I’m getting tired of trying to fix my hair. I’m considering cutting it.”

Danny opened his eyes wide. “What? I love your hair!”

Cory smirked. “Yeah, because you don’t have to take care of it. You get to take, what, ten minutes on your hair? Mine takes almost an hour.” She saw his look of horror at the thought of her hair gone. “Don’t worry. I won’t cut it all off. I may just get it cut back to my mid-back. Take some of the weight off.”

“Okay. The girls are here. Should I send them back?”

“Of course. I don’t care if they see me in my underwear. We’re all girls.” Cory turned to put on her underwear while Danny went to get the girls.

A few minutes later, there was a soft knock at the door before it opened. Cory turned and saw Lindsay peek here head in. “Linds!!” She went to the door and pulled her in a hug. “Oh my. You look very well rested. How was Paris?”

Lindsay grinned. “It was good. How did you know where we went?”

“Come on. Who had to tell Flack where the best place to stay and the best sights to see?”

“I should have known that you had something to do with that! Oh, by the way, I have gifts for all of you.” She turned and looked at Stella and Lydia as they walked into the room.

Stella looked at her. “Gifts? From Paris. My day is complete.” 

Lindsay laughed. “Of course!” She reach into the bag that she was carrying and withdrew three gift bags and handed them to the girls. “Here you go.”

They opened the gifts. Stella and Lydia looked puzzled, but Cory got a huge smile on her face. “Agent Provacateur? Linds. You didn’t get us lingerie, did you?”

Lindsay shook her head. “Nope. It’s a strip poker set. The cards have pictures of models wearing their lingerie.”

Stella still looked puzzled. “Okay. I get the strip poker set and trust me; I’ll have fun with it. But what’s Agent Provacateur?”

Cory was the one who answer. “They are kinda like Frederick’s, but they make them look tame. Some of their lingerie is definitely for the uninhibited. Thanks, Linds. I can’t wait to challenge Danny to a game.” Cory put the box into her lingerie drawer and turned to the others. “Let’s get ready. Oh, Stell. Thanks for finishing the arrangements for tonight. I take it you told the guys to meet us here?”

Stella nodded. “Yeah. No problem. Why did you have to go out of town all the sudden?”

Cory shrugged her shoulders. “It’s a long story. I’ll fill everyone in later.”

The women seemed to understand and each reached into their bags to pull out their clothes.

(Meanwhile, in the living room)

Danny and Flack were catching up when there was a knock on the door. Danny stood up and walked to the door. He opened it and found Hawkes and Mac standing outside. They were both dressed casually in jeans and a polo.

Mac noticed Flack on the couch. “Hey, Flack! Glad to see you back. How was the honeymoon?”

Flack smiled. “I’ve never been so relaxed my entire life. Paris was a great idea. Lindsay loved it and there were some amazing sights to see.” Flack nodded to Hawkes. “Hey, Hawkes. How’s it going?”

“It’s been busy. We’ll be really glad to have Lindsay back in the lab. Danny and I are working on a serial murder case. The perp is smart enough to not leave any useful evidence. Hopefully, now that Cory is back, she can shed some light on our victims. All we know is that they are young, blonde, and we suspect they are foreign exchange students.”

“Interesting.” Flack jerked his head towards the bedroom. “Why do women have to get dressed together?”

Mac smiled. “It’s a woman thing. All I know is that every time Claire would get dressed with other women, she would look phenomenal. Danny, how did Cory’s trip go? Is her cousin okay?”

Danny smiled. “Yes. That’s not really the reason she left though. I’ll let her tell you about it when she is ready. She hasn’t even talked to me about it yet. Course, she did sleep the entire way home from the airport.”

Flack looked at Danny. “Cory was out of town? Man, you holding back on me?”

Danny looked at Flack sheepishly. “Naw. She just got back today. She hasn’t even told the girls about it, yet. I’m respecting her privacy.” Danny turned to look at the clock. “It’s only nine-thirty. Anyone want a beer?”

There were nods all around and Danny walked into the kitchen to grab the drinks. When he got back everyone had started a discussion on how well the Yankees were doing. He handed out the drinks and sat down to join the discussion.

(The bedroom)

The girls looked at each other. “Wow,” Cory breathed. “We sure do clean up nice. We’re going to knock their socks off!”

Lindsay and Lydia agreed, while Stella stayed silent. Cory realized her almost slip and turned to Stella. “Stella? How many guys are you planning on picking up at the bar?”

Stella smiled, knowing that Cory was just trying to cover up for her. “I just have my eye on one. I think it’s time that I came out of the proverbial closet.”

Lydia looked confused, but Lindsay just gasped. “I knew it! You and Mac are going out! You sly dog. Trying to keep such juicy gossip away from us.”

Stella rolled her eyes. “How long have you known?”

Lindsay smiled. “Since my wedding. The way that you and Mac looked at each other during the ceremony was a dead giveaway.”

Stella scowled. “Damn. Here I thought we were being so careful.”

Cory laughed. “Honey. You were careful. I can promise you that they guys don’t know. Danny made a comment at the reception about how he wondered if you and Mac would ever come to your senses and date. Trust me. He’s clueless.”

Lydia laughed. “But it’s Danny. He’s always clueless. Sheldon has some suspicions, but I don’t think he’s fully on board yet. What about Flack?”

Lindsay looked at them. “He’s like Danny. He has no clue.”

Stella sighed in relief. “That’s good. I was hoping to keep it a secret longer, but it took all I had to convince Mac to come with us tonight. He’s only coming because I told him how I would be dancing with other guys.”

Cory laughed. “That’s true. I’ve already told Danny that I have to dance at least one dance with Chad and let me tell you, he was _so_ not happy at that!! How do I look?”

The other three looked at Cory. She was wearing faded low rise jeans, with a black and white halter top that showed off her dragon tattoo. She had on a dragon necklace and a matching dragon belt. Her hair was wavy and pulled into a high pony tail. To top off the outfit, she was wearing platform wedge sandals.

Lydia looked at her. “Fabulous. What about me?” She was wearing a white baby doll top that really set off the duskiness of her skin. Matched with that, she was wearing a white mini skirt with platform white Mary Jane’s. She had on a simple silver necklace and matching silver hoop earrings. Her long back hair was straight and like Cory’s pulled back into a high pony tail.

Lindsay nodded. “You look like a model. I wish that I had your height.”

Lydia laughed. “Sweetie, I’m only five-six. I just always wear heels, so I look taller. You look great, too.”

Lindsay was wearing a purple camisole that left her midriff bare. She was wearing black, low rise jeans and stiletto sandals. She had straightened her hair and it was styled in a flyaway style. “Really? I don’t have any jewelry on, though.”

Cory thought for a moment. “I have the perfect necklace for that outfit.” She walked into the bathroom and a moment later was back with a purple and silver necklace. It had many strands, varying in length. “Here. This matches your outfit.” Cory then turned to Stella. “And you, Stella, are the picture of sophistication.” The other girls nodded as they looked at her outfit.

She was wearing faded, low rise jeans, with a simple green, sleeveless satin shirt. The shirt had a plunging neckline. She had a silver chain belt and matching necklace. She was wearing stiletto heeled boots to complete the outfit. Her hair was a riot of curls that just reached her shoulders. Stella nodded and looked at them. “Let’s go knock the socks off the guys.”

The girls grabbed their ID’s and walked out of the bedroom.

In the living room, the men turned at the sound of the door opening. Cory walked out first and Danny became very tongue-tied. “Wow. _Bella,_ you look amazing.” Cory smiled and winked at him.

Behind her walked Lydia. When Hawkes caught sight of her, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

Lindsay walked in behind Lydia and Flack swallowed at the sight of her. “Linds. Wow. Um. Wow.” Lindsay smiled as she moved out of the way of Stella.

When Mac saw Stella, he almost groaned. _Is she trying to put me into heart failure?_ He was so lost in thought that he was surprised when she walked over to him. She looked deep into his eyes and then kissed him.

Danny and Flack looked on in shock, while Hawkes just smirked. Danny glanced at Flack and Hawkes and noticed that Flack looked just as confused as he was, but Hawkes looked unsurprised. “Wait? Did I miss something? Mac and Stella? You guys are dating?” When he got no response from the couple, he looked at Cory for confirmation. She nodded her head. “How long?”

Stella ended the kiss. “Long enough to do that.” She had the firm, no-nonsense tone to her voice that told Danny he would get nowhere by trying to question her further. _Well…Damn. I’ll ask Cory about it later._

Cory looked at the seven other people in the room and cleared her throat. “Y’all ready to go?”

(Trance)

When the group got to Trance, Cory led them up to Bobby, so he could let them in. She smiled as she walked up to him. “Hey, Bobby. Is there enough room for eight more?”

Bobby smiled. “Of course! Come on it.” He unhooked the velvet rope and let the eight walk in.

Cory led the group to the bar and waived at Arianna. “Hey, girl!! Let me introduce you to everyone. You already know Stella and Lindsay. That’s Lydia, Danny, Flack, Mac and Hawkes.” She turned to the group. “Guys, this is Arianna. She is the best bartender in New York City. Just give her your order and she’ll take care of it.” She turned back to Arianna. “I want my usual.”

Once everyone had their drinks, Cory led them to a group of tables. They gathered around the tables and talked about the previous week. Finally, Cory heard the beat of the music change and grabbed the girls to drag them to the dance floor.

Danny and Flack knew what to expect when the girls started dancing together. Hawkes and Mac just swallowed at the sight before them. Danny leaned over to Flack and whispered, “Let’s let them dance for one song, then I’m claiming Cory before that guy Chad gets here.”

Flack nodded. “I agree. Gawd, I love to watch them dance.” He couldn’t take his eyes off of Lindsay and noticed that a group of college age guys were also ogling the group of girls. He nudged Danny. “Look. Let’s see if they decide to make a move.”

Out of the dance floor, the girls were lost in the music. Cory turned with the beat of the music and noticed a group of guys approaching them. She wiggled in another circle and looked at the girls. “Warning. Incoming college guys. Let’s see how creatively they’re going to hit on us.”

Stella smiled and just went on dancing. She watched as the four men walked up to them and began to dance with them. She had to admit that they were great dancers. They weren’t trying to make conversation, just trying to enjoy the dance. She spared a glance at Mac and the guys and saw that they weren’t too excited to see the guys dancing with them. She leaned over to Lydia and said, “I think Sheldon is jealous.”

Lydia looked at her and then looked at Hawkes. She smiled and winked at him, hoping to get him to come up and dance with her. It worked and she saw him lean towards Mac, Danny and Flack, then get up.

Hawkes watched the men go up and start dancing with the girls. He felt a little bit of jealousy at the idea of someone else dancing with his girlfriend. Then he saw her wink at him. He leaned towards the other guys and said, “Hey. I’m tired of watching someone else dance with my girlfriend. I’m going out to dance. You guys coming or what?”

Mac looked at Hawkes and then looked at Stella. He felt the jealousy rise in his chest at the sight of her dancing with another guy, but he was uncertain about dancing. Techno was not really his genre of music. He was more of a jazz man. Still, he knew that he had strong feelings for Stella and was willing to try something new, just for her. He slowly got to his feet and followed Hawkes out on the dance floor.

Danny and Flack followed the other two onto the dance floor. Flack came up behind Lindsay who was dancing with a blonde guy. He bent his head and breathed into her ear, “Ya miss me?” It got the reaction that he was hoping for. 

She turned in his arms and gave him a quick kiss. “Of course.” She raised her arms above her head and began to dance with him.

Danny was having a similar intervention with Cory. She felt him come up behind her and recognized the scent of his cologne. When he put his hands on her hips, to draw her close to him, she wound her arms around his neck. Danny looked at the guy who had been dancing with her and shot him a look of victory. Admitting his defeat, he moved away.

Mac walked up to Stella and gave the guy she was dancing with a death stare. The guy to the hint and backed away. When he left, Stella turned around and saw Mac standing there. She smiled and drew him close to her. She knew that he did not have any experience dancing to this type of music, so she decided to teach him. Grabbing his hands, she put them on her hips and began to sway in time to the music.

Hawkes walked up to Lydia and began dancing behind her. She turned to see who it was and a big smile appeared on her face. She leaned towards him and put her mouth by his ear. “Glad you got the hint.” She moved back and they started dancing.

The four couples danced for a bit, then decided to move back to the tables to rest. When they got back there, everyone sat down, a little flushed from the exertion. Hawkes got up to go get more drinks, but Cory stopped him. “Don’t worry about it. Arianna is sending a waitress with our drinks.”

Hawkes looked at her. “How do you know that?”

Cory smiled. “Let’s just say that I get some specific perks here. I helped the owner who was having a problem with the IRS. Ever since, he treats me like family.” Just as she finished that statement, a waitress showed up with their drinks. “See?”

Hawkes just shook his head in amazement.

Mac leaned in to get his drink. “This is a nice place, Cory. Not normally someplace that I would come, but it’s nice.” He nodded his head to her. “What happened last week?”

Cory drew in a breath. “This is not the place to fill you in. Can I take a rain check?”

Mac nodded, knowing that what she needed to tell them was serious. “Of course.”

Cory heard the music switch to some more of The Prodigy and grabbed Danny’s hand. “Come on. I want to dance some more. And since Chad’s not here, you don’t have to worry about someone else dancing with me!”

Danny laughed and followed her onto the dance floor. He had a smile of contentment on his face as they began to dance the night away.

The other three couples looked out onto the dance floor and decided to join them.

Finally, three hours later, the group decided to leave the club.

(Mac and Stella)

Mac walked Stella home. While they were walking, he took her hand gently. She looked at him and smiled. “I had a great time tonight. Thanks for coming, Mac.”

Mac looked at the light in her eyes and knew that he could never deny him anything. “I’m glad. I had a good time, too. I don’t think that I’ve ever been to a techno club before. It was nice. Very different than what I had expected.”

Stella laughed. “I know what you mean. I’ve been to other clubs like this before, but none of them are like this. The owner, Jerry, has created a hip club that has the bar-down-the-street feel to it. Maybe I feel that because of the way Cory is treated there, but I don’t think so. I know that’s why it’s so popular.”

Mac nodded and decided to change the subject. “What’s going on with Cory?”

Stella shook her head. “I’m not sure. I know that she went to California last week to visit a sick relative, but when we were getting dressed, she said that there was more to the story. She said that she would tell all of us later.” She looked at Mac. “Mac…She’s fine.”

Mac rolled his eyes. “I know, but I can’t help but get the feeling that there is a lot more to this story than what’s she told us so far. I’ll just be patient.”

By this time, they had reached Stella’s apartment. Mac leaned forward and captured her lips in a searing kiss. When he finally withdrew, Stella’s knees were weak. She looked into his eyes and came to a decision. “Mac? Do you want to come up?”

Mac looked into her eyes and saw the desire simmering there. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Definitely.” She grabbed his hand and led him into her apartment.

(Hawkes and Lydia)

Lydia followed Hawkes out of the club, with a smile on her face. He noticed her smile and took her hand. “You feeling better?”

Lydia nodded. “Much. This was a great stress relief. What about you? Did coming out with us help you forget about the murdered girls for the time being?”

He nodded. “For a bit. I’m thinking about them in a new light. Let me ask you a question.” Lydia nodded. “Okay. You’re a foreign exchange student. Where do you go to party in the city?”

Lydia thought for a moment. “Well. You would find a group of people that you feel comfortable with and then hang out with them. You would probably do things as a group. You might find someone from the city, someone that you trust, to show you the city. The nightlife, club spots, etcetera.”

Hawkes felt the light go on in his head. “That’s it! You’re a genius. I need to find out what all the girls have in common besides from being from a different country!” Hawkes stopped and drew Lydia into a deep kiss. “Thanks. Now I have a plan for tomorrow. I know what I need to do.”

Lydia laughed. “I’m glad I could help. Oh, look. We’re at my apartment. Do you want to come up?”

Hawkes looked at her. “I’d love to.”

Lydia grabbed his hand and drew him into the elevator and a long kiss.

(Flack and Lindsay)

Lindsay kicked her shoes off once they got into their apartment. She looked around the apartment, at the unopened wedding gifts. “I guess we get to open those tomorrow. I wonder what’s been going on with Cory.”

Flack looked at her. “I don’t know. But if I’ve learned anything about her…She’ll tell you.”

Lindsay smiled. “I know. It’s just frustrating that I obviously missed a lot this week. Not that I would change a bit of the last week.”

Flack laughed. “I’m glad I can still surprise you. I’m with you though. Let’s open the presents tomorrow and go to bed now. I’m tired. I think I’m still on Paris time.”

Lindsay yawned. She smiled and turned to pick her way to the bedroom. “I agree. Let’s go sleep.”

Flack yawned and followed her lead.

(Danny and Cory)

Danny led Cory into their apartment. “How are you feeling?”

Cory yawned. “I’m still tired, but I do feel a lot better.” She sat on the couch. “I think I can coherently tell you about what happened now.”

Danny nodded, dreading the conversation that was coming.

Cory drew in breath. “The Martinez Brothers have put a contract out on my life and the lives of my friends and family members.”

Danny sucked in a breath. “What!”

Cory put her hand over his. “I expected that. I’ve been making life very difficult for them. What I didn’t expect was who they hired to try to kill me. His name is Antoine Frasier. He’s one of the top assassins in the world.”

“ _Bella._ I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t like this.”

Cory shook her head. “Neither do I. I’m terrified. And I’m more terrified about my friends and family members getting hurt, than I am me. I don’t know if I could stand it, if you were hurt.” Cory was shaking as she finished her sentence.

Quickly, Danny drew her into his arms and rubbed her back in a soothing manner. “Shhh. It’ll be alright. We’ll all protect you. Why are they doing this?”

Cory sniffed and laughed. “That the best part. They aren’t. They are an end to means. All Ortiz knows is that he thinks that it was actually Javier Montoya who put the hit out.”

“Who’s that?”

“The leader of the biggest Colombian drug cartel. But I’ve never had any dealings with any case that had him involved. Ortiz suspects that Montoya is getting involved in terrorism.” Cory shrugged and began to think aloud. “But that brings me back to another thought. What if this is just some big elaborate trick by Ortiz to try to get me back? Huh? He could have ties with Montoya. He could be planning this. I won’t put anything past him where it’s concerned with me.”

Danny closed his eyes. “I’m glad you said that. I’ve been worried about him doing that exact same thing, but we have no proof.”

Cory raised her hands to her face, to rub away the exhaustion. “Welcome to my life. It’s never boring or predictable.” She sighed. “ _Mon chere?_ I’m tired. Can we go to bed? I’ll tell everyone else about this later. I just need to lie in your arms and let you chase the demons away.”

Danny kissed the top of her head. “Sure.” He got up off the couch and when she stood up, picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.


	10. Threats

Chapter 10.

** Threats **

The next day, Cory decided to go to the crime lab with Danny. She wanted to fill the team in on the danger that they were in. When they got there, the lab was as crazy as she remembered. She walked into the print lab with Danny to see if there had been any hits on the other two dead girls in his serial murder case.

Danny looked at Rachel. “Hey, Rachel. Have you gotten any hits on the other two victims, yet?”

She looked up. “No. Sorry. You might want to ask your contact at the FBI if she can see if they are international, as well.”

Danny looked at Cory, who had a smile on her face. Then he looked at Rachel. “You just did. Rachel, meet Special Agent Corinne Reid, FBI. Cory this is Rachel Thompson, one of our new lab techs.”

Cory smiled and extended her hand. “Hi, Rachel. Nice to meet you. If you will loan me your computer, I can log into my computer at work and put out some inquires.”

Rachel looked stunned. “Um. Hi. Okay, here you go.” She motioned to her computer. _That’s Cory? Wow. She’s beautiful. No wonder Danny always talks about her._

Cory sat down at the computer. Quickly she was entering her password to log in. She opened her email and found that she had over one hundred new emails. _Holy crap! I leave for four days and my email explodes. I’ll just have to look at all of this later._ She pulled up her compose screen was soon was typing the information in. She glanced at Danny. “You said that you suspect that they are all foreign exchange students, right?”

“Yeah. Based on the information that you gave us on Carolina Pierre, we are assuming that all of the murdered girls are exchange students.”

Cory nodded. “Can I upload a copy of the other two victim’s pictures and fingerprints? That will make the search a lot easier.”

“Sure.”

Cory quickly uploaded the information and sent her request to Interpol. “Okay. I’ve sent the request to Interpol. I should hear something back within a couple of days. I also asked them to see if they have any murders that match the M.O. of this killer. Maybe he’s a serial that has moved here recently.”

Rachel looked at Cory in surprise. She hadn’t thought of that and judging by the look on Danny’s face, neither had he. “That’s a good idea.”

Danny nodded in agreement. “I agree. When we interview classmates of Carolina, they didn’t recognize the other two girls, so maybe this will give us the help we need.”

Just then, Hawkes walked into the room. “Hey, Cory.” Then he turned to Danny before she had a chance to respond. “Danny, Lydia gave me a great idea last night.”

Danny raised his eyebrows. “Is this acceptable for mixed company?”

Hawkes rolled his eyes. “About the case, Messer. About the case. Listen. If you were a foreign exchange student, who do you hang out with in your spare time? Other students. I want to check to see if there is any organization in the city that caters to exchange students.”

“Good idea. Cory just sent an inquiry to Interpol to see if they can ID the other two victims or if they have any serial murders which match the M.O.”

Hawkes nodded. “That’s good. Very good. Surely with all of us working on it, we can get a resolution.”

Cory smiled. “Not a problem.” She turned to look at Hawkes. “Hawkes, is the rest of the team here?”

Hawkes nodded. “Yes. Why?”

Cory signed. “I need to give them some information. Can you get everyone into Mac’s office?”

Hawkes nodded and turned to leave. Cory looked at Danny, resignation in her eyes. “Okay. I can do this.”

Danny wrapped an arm around her. “Of course you can, _bella._ Remember, we’re here for you.” He kissed the top of her head.

“Thanks, _chere_. I needed that.” Cory paused to turn and look at Rachel. “Rachel. It was nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

Cory and Danny turned to walk out of the lab and towards Danny’s office. Once inside, they waited for the rest of the team to get there. Surprising them, Lydia walked in behind Hawkes.

Cory looked at Lydia in shock. “Lydia? You’re here?”

Lydia smiled. “Yeah. I knew that somehow you would tell us what was going on today, so I came in with Sheldon.”

“Okay. Let’s wait until Stella and Mac get here.” Cory turned and saw the pair walking towards his office.

Mac walked in, concern on his face. “What’s going on, Cory.”

“I wanted to fill you in on what’s been going on the last week.” Cory took a breath. “Ortiz contacted me early last week and requested a clandestine meeting. I did go out to California to visit my cousin, but I drove to Texas. In the meeting, Ortiz told me that the Martinez Brothers have put a contract out on my life and I think that y’all may be in danger.”

Flack cleared his throat. “You have a contract out on your life?”

Cory nodded. “Yeah.” Then she laughed. “On the plus side, I must really be hated. It’s ten million dollars.”

“Holy mother of…” Lindsay trailed off in her surprise. “Why do you think that we may be in danger?”

“Just a feeling. I just want y’all to be extra careful. The assassin after me is one of the best in the world.”

Mac got a stern look on his face. “Who is it?”

Cory looked down. “Antoine Frasier.” She looked up in shock as Mac swore creatively under his breath. “I take it you know him?”

“We’ve got history. Cory, you really need to be careful. He is the most ruthless assassin in the game today.”

Cory smiled, softly. “You bet. I’m Miss Careful. I promise. I won’t go off half-cocked like I did with Ortiz.”

Mac nodded and was about to say something when some cell phones rang.

Danny and Hawkes looked down at their phones. “Damn,” Danny said. “Looks like we might have another dead body in our serial case. Cory, do you want to come to the scene with us?”

Cory nodded her assent. “Sure. Then, I really need to go into the office for a little bit. I’ve got over a hundred emails to go through!”

Danny nodded and the three of them left Mac’s office.

(Crime scene)

When the three arrived at the crime scene, they entered it with care. Cory looked around the apartment. “Nice. It looks like one of those ads out of a magazine. The only downfall is the dead girl in the living room.” Cory moved behind the guys. “Let me stay out of your way.”

Hawkes immediately went to the body and nodded. “Yeah. This is the same guy. Fake blood. Danny, do you see any trace?”

Danny took a cursory look around the apartment. “Not anything evident.” He began to go over the room with a fine tooth comb.

Cory made her way around the apartment, looking at the pictures. She was looking at the wall, when she noticed a blank spot. “Hey, Danny. Look over here. It looks like a picture is missing. Is this the victim’s apartment?”

Danny looked at Hawkes who shrugged. He then leaned his head out the door. “Hey! Angell!” 

The detective turned from where she was interviewing witnesses. “Yeah?”

“Do you know if this is the victim’s apartment?”

She flipped through her book. “Neighbors say that they have seen her and they thought she was living her. I’m trying to track down the apartment manager to see who it’s registered to.”

Danny nodded and turned back to Cory. “We have no clue.” He strolled over and looked at the wall. “I do see what you mean. There does seem to be a picture missing. Maybe if the victim lived here, the picture was important to him?”

Cory nodded. “What about the other scenes. Where they apartments? If so, were there any pictures missing?”

“They were apartments, but none of the victim’s lived there.”

Cory pursed her lips. “Huh. Maybe this is a change in the pattern. Maybe this victim was more personal for him.” Cory continued to run over the case in her head. She was interrupted by her cell phone ringing. “Reid”

_“Agent Reid. Nice to see you’re back in town. How did your visit to Texas go?”_

Cory got a frown on her face. “Who is this?”

An evil laugh came over the phone. _“Oh, I think you know. You might want to keep an eye on that cute CSI that you are with…he might be the first on my list. Have a nice day.”_

Cory listened to the phone buzz in her ear, her eyes focused on Danny.


	11. A Break

Chapter 11.

** A Break **

Danny was still looking at the blank spot on the wall when he heard Cory answer the phone. He looked up in concern when he heard her ask who was on the phone. When all of the color drained out her face, he walked over to her quickly.

“ _Bella?_ What’s wrong?”

Cory looked at him, fear and surprise in her eyes. “Um…I think that was Frasier. He told me that he might go after you first.” Cory closed her eyes, trying to suppress the anger and fear that was flooding through her body.

Danny looked at her in shock. “What?”

Cory drew in a breath and opened her eyes. “He said that the cute CSI that I was with might be first on his list. I…” Cory trailed off in shock.

“Cory. I promise that I will be careful. Trust me; if I get a shot at him, he’s mine. I will not let him hurt you.”

Hawkes looked over at the pair, trying not to eavesdrop on their conversation. He cleared his throat. “Um. Cory? Do you know how this guy likes to kill? Is it a simple assassination or does he try to make it look like an accident?”

Cory shook her head. “I have no clue. All I know is his name. I haven’t had a chance to research his kills, yet.” Cory drew a deep breath and pulled some strength from her anger. “I’ve got to go to the office. I have so much stuff that I have to do.”

Danny nodded in his understanding. He knew that she had to work to try to overcome any feelings that she was having. “Go, _bella._ We’ll finish processing here.”

Cory smiled but it did not reach her eyes. “You, _chere_ , are much to understanding for me. I hate to jet on you, but I need to do this. I’ll call you when I’m on my way home.” She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. “ _Je t’aime.”_

Danny smiled and decided to surprise her. “ _Moi aussi.”_

Cory raised her eyebrows. “You learned French?”

Danny smirked. “A few words. I thought that it might be nice to surprise you.”

“Thanks. It means a lot to me. I’d better go.”

Danny watched in concern as she left. Once she was gone he turned to Hawkes. “Man, I’m worried about her. I don’t know how much more she can take before she reaches her breaking point.”

Hawkes nodded his head in understanding. “You can just be there for her if she does break. Cory’s strong, Danny. She’ll survive. Especially if you keep supporting her.”

Danny nodded, the concern not leaving his eyes. “I know. It’s just wrong. Sometimes I think that she got the short end of the stick. You know, I’ve never met her parents? I’ve met James’ parents, but not hers. Anytime I ask about them, she blows me off. I’ve stopped asking since she obviously does not want to talk about it.” Danny let out a breath in exasperation. “I love her. I want to ask her to marry me, but something’s holding me back. I don’t think that she feels like she can trust me completely yet.”

Hawkes looked at him. “Just have faith, man. She’ll open up to you when she is ready.” He turned and looked around. “Well, I’m done here. There is nothing left for me to process.”

Danny nodded. “I’m right there with you. Still not a damn scrap of trace. How is this guy doing it?”

“I don’t know, but when we catch him, we’ll make sure that he never gets out of jail.” Hawkes packed up his kit and watched as the coroner’s assistant began to load the body.

(FBI Headquarters)

Cory walked into her office, noticing the silence around her. Since it was Sunday, not very many people were in the office. She turned on her computer and sat deep in thought as the machine booted up.

Once her computer had finished pulling up all her programs, she first went to her email. _Damn. Still over a hundred emails. How am I going to get though all of this? I’m distracted as it is._ She sighed, gritted her teeth and opened the first email.

Most of the emails were fairly routine updates from the various cases that she was involved with. Finally, about two hours later she was almost through all of the mail. She noticed an email from one of her friends in Interpol. She furrowed her brow as she opened it up. The email was simple. It just said, “Cory, I got your email. Call me as soon as you are able.”

She looked at the time stamp on the email and realized that he had just sent it. Frowning, she picked up the phone and began dialing the international number. She paused and then punched in another series of number. Finally, the phone began to ring.

_“Murphy.”_

“Alistair. It’s Cory. How have you been?”

_“Cory! I did not expect a response so soon from you. I’ve been wonderful. How has life been treating you?”_

Cory laughed. “It’s been better. I don’t know if you’ve heard, since I just found out myself, but I now have a contract out on my life.”

Alistair gasped. _“What? Who did you manage to upset, dear?”_

“They are some major drug traffickers. Obviously I must be doing my job right, if they are that mad at me! Anyway, what was so urgent that I needed to call you?”

_“I got you’re email request about those dead girls. I think I may be able to help you out.”_

“Really? We are at a dead end here and the NYPD just found another body.”

_“Very interesting. The two pictures that you sent me are for an Anna Dubois and Marie St. Claire. They were classmates at an elite Swiss boarding school. Two years ago, right after graduation they both disappeared. There were signs of a struggle in their dorm room. The Swiss police found no evidence and when the girls were spotted in Madrid, Interpol was called in to help.”_

“Hmm. Is it possible that the victim that we have identified, Carolina Pierre, was part of their class?”

_“I have a copy of the school enrollment right here. Let me check.”_ Cory heard some papers shuffling in the background as Alistair began the search. _“You are correct, my dear. She was listed on the roll. She was in the same graduating class with the other two. It looks like they were good friends. I have a picture of four girls here, they are three of them.”_

“Alistair? Can you please email me and copy of the picture right now?”

_“Sure. Hold on one moment.”_

A few seconds later, an email arrived. Cory quickly opened it up and looked at the picture of the four girls. “I got it. The fourth girl is the victim that we just found. What’s her name?”

_“Abigail Beauregard. She and Marie are from England, Anna is from Switzerland. Why don’t I email you all of the case info? Abigail went missing about six months ago.”_

“That would be great, Alistair. Can you please include a couple of other people in?” She gave him the email address for Hawkes, Danny and Mac. “They are the people investigating the deaths at the New York Crime Lab. You have been so much help. Thank you so much.”

_“No problem, my dear. I’m glad that we are able to give some sort of closure to these families. I’m just sorry that the news will be so bad. I’d better let you go, I’m getting ready to leave, I just wanted to wait for you’re call if I could.”_

“Before you go, I have a favor to ask.”

_“Anything for you.”_

“I need you to send me as much information you can on Antoine Frasier.”

_“Why?”_

“He’s the one that has been called in to try to kill me. I want to know what to prepare for. I know that he’s going to go after my friends and family, so I want to prepare them as well.”

Alistair gasped over the phone line. _“Dear. You must be very careful. He is very dangerous. I’ve had some dealings with him over the last ten years, so I have plenty of information on him. I’m more than happy to forward the information to you. It may take me a day or so to compile all of it, but I’ll have it to you by Wednesday.”_

Cory smiled. “Thanks. I’ll let you get home to Molly, now. You are worse than me! Spend some time with her.”

Alistair laughed. _“My dear, we just got back from a two week holiday in Greece. She was glad to get rid of me! Stay safe.”_

“You, too. Bye.”

Cory hung up her phone. She felt slightly better after talking to Alistair. She smiled as she got another email from him, this one containing all of the Interpol case information.

She picked up the phone and quickly dialed Danny. 

_“Messer.”_

“Hey. Where are you at?”

_“Hey to you, too. I’m at the lab.”_

Cory smiled. “Go check you’re email. I think that I got some great case breaking information for you. I just got off the phone with an Interpol contact in London. He was able to ID all of the other victims. They went to the same boarding school in Switzerland.”

Danny raised his eyebrows. _“Really? That’s great. I’ll glance over it, but I’ve been on for over ten hours, so I’m heading home. Even Mac has left for the day.”_

Cory looked at her phone. “Wait. Did I hear that right? Mac. Mac Taylor. Former Marine Mac Taylor has already left work and it’s only seven o’clock at night? Is he sick?”

Danny laughed. _“Nope. Stella managed to drag him out of here. Said something about going to a concert.”_

Cory smiled. “Nice. I’m heading home, too. I’m still tired. I’ll meet you there?”

Danny nodded to himself. _“Definitely. I love you.”_

“I love you, too. I’ll see you in a bit.”


	12. Discussions

Chapter 12.

** Discussions **

When Cory got home, she found that Danny had ordered pizza from Campisi’s, her favorite pizza restaurant. When she walked into the apartment, her mouth started watering. “You ordered barbeque chicken pizza,” she said.

Danny nodded and gave her a quick kiss. “I figured that I owed you a good meal.”

Cory raised her eyebrows in appreciation. “You know that I would do almost anything for this pizza, right? It reminds me of home…”

Danny laughed. “The real question is, what wouldn’t you do for this pizza?” Danny drew the box of pizza away from her, as she tried to grab a slice.

“Danny,” she said in warning. “Give me that pizza or I might have to hurt you.”

Danny put on a mock scared face and ran from the kitchen into the living room. “Only if you can catch me!”

Cory had to stop herself from laughing. Before she turned around, she made sure that her face was serious. “Daniel James Messer! Get back in here now or I’ll never have sex with you again!”

Danny stopped in his tracks and quickly went back into the kitchen. He placed the pizza in front of her and said, “I am so sorry. I’ll never to that again.” 

Cory just started laughing. “Works every time.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Witch. You know that I would never risk that!” He waggled his eyebrows, trying to be seductive.

“Whatever, Messer.” Cory sighed in delight as she bit into the pizza. “Gawd…This is so good! Did you get a chance to look over the email from Alistair?”

Danny nodded his head, no. “No. I was so beat and if I didn’t leave when I did, I would have never been able to leave. Things are so crazy right now. I’m glad Lindsay is back. Maybe things will calm back down.”

“True. I’ll give you a brief recap. Alistair gave me the highlights. All four of your victims went to the same boarding school in Switzerland. The second two were kidnapped right after graduation and then the last victim went missing about six months ago. I had him send you all of the forensics and suspect lists. Hopefully, y’all can find a similarity between what you have and what they have.”

“Really?” Danny asked incredulously. “That’s great. Hawkes and I will go over it tomorrow.” Danny drew a breath, knowing that they needed to talk about what had happened that afternoon. “Cory? Are you okay after what happened this afternoon?”

Cory drew in a deep breath, unsurprised that Danny was bringing the subject up. “Honestly? I don’t know. It has me a little freaked out that an assassin is watching me. I keep asking myself what I did in a previous life to cause this one to be so…screwed.”

Danny put his arm around her shoulder in comfort. “Sweetheart, you didn’t do anything to deserve this. The only thing that you can be accused of is doing your job very well. That’s the reason that you are being targeted.”

Cory exhaled heavily. “I know. This just confuses me. I mean, the whole thing with Ortiz? It never confused me. I knew that he was psycho. But why is the Los Dios Cartel after me? That’s what’s got me wondering. I have never had any dealings with them. As far as I know they were never involved with Mala Suerte. Mala Suerte was just a ripple in the water compared to the raging river that Los Dios is.”

Danny sat in thought while he tried to figure the puzzle out. Finally, after a couple of moments he spoke up. “What if something that you are doing now is having a negative effect on them? Drug cartels don’t focus on random people. What have you been doing that could have an effect?”

Cory furrowed her brow. “I’ve been focusing all my attention on catching the Martinez Brothers. They took over Mala Suerte, so we’ve been focusing on bringing them down in order to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S.”

“There’s your answer, sweetheart. You are successfully stopping the flow of drugs, which is making them lose money. You’re an accountant. You know that everything comes back to the bottom line.”

Cory muttered under her breath and slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. “I’m having a Homer Simpson moment now. D’OH! Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Um...Because you have been going ninety to nothing since you go back. You haven’t had a chance to process all of the information that you got. Do you feel better now?”

Cory laughed. “Yes, _chere_. I feel much better. Thank you.” She leaned over to him and kissed him softly on the lips. “How do you know exactly what to say to cheer me up?”

Danny chuckled. “Oh, did I forget to tell you that I read minds?” He ducked as she playfully threw a punch at him. “Ow! That hurt,” he joked.

“Whatever, Danny. Oh, by the way, I invited Taylor over tomorrow. I really need to talk to her and Maddy about Antonio.”

Danny nodded. “I kinda figured that you would do that when you had a chance to catch your breath. It’ll be good to see her. Things have been quiet for her on the ghost front recently. I haven’t seen her since before the wedding.”

“Yeah. I’ve talked to her, but she said that she doesn’t know what to do with the extra time.” Cory giggled. “I told her that Marty would enjoy the extra attention and she threatened to sic Aiden on me.”

Danny laughed as he stood up. “So, let’s go clean the kitchen and then hit the sack. If you feel like I do, we’ll fall asleep as we hit the pillow.”

Cory yawned, almost on cue. “You’re reading my mind again. Are you sure you really want into my thoughts? They might scare you.”

“I’ll take my chances,” he said with a wink.

Cory just rolled her eyes as she walked towards the bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys…Here’s a short update before the action really starts to wind down with Danny’s case and heats up with Cory. Also, Campisi’s is a real restaurant in Dallas. They have the BEST pizza I’ve ever had. We order it a lot at work and I’ll admit, I’m addicted to the barbeque chicken pizza!


	13. Swiss Neutality

Chapter 13.

** Swiss Neutrality **

The next morning, when Danny got up, he decided to let Cory sleep some more. He quickly got in the shower and let his mind work over all the information that Cory had given him the previous night. _Okay. So the four victims knew each other. We need to get a timeline going to see if we can track their movements over the previous couple of years. Obviously, all of this is connected._ Danny smiled as that thought flickered into his head. _Just like Mac always says._

In the bedroom, Cory groaned when she heard Danny’s phone ring. “Danny—come on. Answer your phone!” She groaned again as she opened her eyes and the light hit them. That was when she heard the unmistakable sound of the shower running. Sighing in defeat, she picked up the phone. “Hey, Hawkes. Danny’s in the shower. What’s going on?”

_“Cory?”_

Cory laughed. “What other woman is going to be answering Danny’s phone at six in the morning?”

Hawkes laughed on the other end of the line. _“Okay. I admit, stupid reaction. I was just calling Danny to see if he had gotten the email from your contact in Interpol. I know he was still here last night when it came back in.”_

“He was there, but he didn’t have time to read it. He was exhausted, so I filled him in with the highlights when I got home.”

_“Oh. Okay. Tell him to bring coffee when he comes in. I think it’s going to be a long day. There is a ton of information that was included in that email. It’s going to take a couple of days to actually comb through all of the different forensic evidence.”_

Cory yawned. “Gotcha. Listen, I’ll have Danny call you when he gets ready to leave. I have got to make some coffee if I’m going to make it to work today.”

_“Okay. Thanks. I’ll talk to you later.”_

“Bye,” Cory said as she hung up the phone. She climbed out of bed and grabbed her robe to make her way into the kitchen. With another yawn trying to split her jaw in two, she set the coffee on to percolate. She smiled in satisfaction as the fragrant smell began to permeate through the apartment.

She then looked into the pantry to see what she could make for a quick breakfast. Seeing tortillas, cheese and sausage, she decided to make breakfast burritos. _Huh. I don’t think that I have ever made those for Danny before. Usually, if I make breakfast, I do something more practical. Maybe I can surprise him._ With that thought in mind, she retrieved the ingredients and began to make breakfast. She turned on her stereo was she worked, listening to her Metallica CD.

When Danny walked out of the bathroom, he noticed that the bed was empty. He smiled as a tantalizing scent wafted through the open bedroom door. Quickly, he finished getting dressed and walked into the kitchen. “ _Bella?_ What are you cooking?” he asked as he wrapped his arms around her.

Cory turned her head slightly and brushed his lips with her own. “Breakfast burritos. I don’t think that I have ever made them for you.”

Danny sniffed appreciatively as he shook his head from side to side. “Smells good. Do I smell jalapeño’s?”

“Yes. You don’t have to eat them if you don’t want to. I like them with my burritos, but I am from Texas.”

Danny raised his eyebrows. “Okay. You may have gotten me on the back of a horse, but I ain’t eating hot peppers with breakfast. That’s just strange.”

Cory began to giggle. “Whatever. It’ll be ready in a couple of minutes. Oh, Hawkes called. He wants you to bring coffee since it’s going to be a long day going through all of the evidence.” Danny nodded in agreement. “Okay,” Cory continued. “Here’s breakfast. After I eat, I’m going to get dressed.”

\----------------------

When Danny walked into the lab, he was carrying a travel mug of coffee for Hawkes. He placed all of his gear in a locker and walked around the lab, looking for the doctor. He found him in the layout room. “Mornin’ Hawkes. Here’s your coffee. Whadda ya have so far?”

Hawked looked up from the papers he was reviewing and sighed. “Not much. Most of what I’m going through right now is the forensic evidence. There wasn’t much.” He accepted the mug of coffee with a smile. “You know, I was just kidding about the coffee.”

Danny laughed. “I know, man. I just thought it was still a nice gesture.” He set his own mug of coffee down and pulled out another printout from a stack by Hawkes. “Why don’t I go over the suspect list? I can cross reference the people on the list with customs and homeland security? Maybe we can get a lead there.”

“Good idea. I’ll get back to the forensics. This is going to be a very long day.”

\-------------------------

When Cory got to work, she set all of her bags down with a sigh. She smiled as Lydia walked in. “Hey, Lydia. What did I miss last week?”

“Not much. Most of the cases are in the wrapping up process, other than the Martinez Brothers case.”

Cory nodded. “Oh…I thought of something last night. Actually, Danny did. I think I know why the Los Dios Cartel is after me.”

Lydia looked at her in surprise. “Really? Why?”

Cory exhaled. “Well, we know that Mala Suerte did not do any business with Los Dios, but I think that maybe the Martinez Brothers did. Since we have been so focused on catching them, it’s probable that we are decreasing their bottom line. Ergo, the hit out on my life.”

Lydia thought for a moment. “Well,” she began. “That’s definitely possible, but for some reason I think there I more to it than that. There are other teams of people that have been stopping the flow of drugs from that cartel, but they haven’t been targeted.”

Cory’s mind began to process that information. “I know. Maybe we are being more effective?” She exhaled in frustration. “Oh, I don’t know. I’m grasping at straws here. I just…”

“I know what you mean,” Lydia said soothingly. “I say, don’t change anything about what you are investigating. Obviously, you are doing something right.” Lydia waved good-bye as she walked out of the office.

Cory just looked out her window, deep in thought. She was interrupted by a beep from her computer. She turned around and found that she had the weekly meeting scheduled in ten minutes. Putting her problems at the back of her mind, she gathered up her notes and made her way to the conference room.

\--------------------------

Danny rubbed his eyes and he turned the page on the report he was reading. So far, he had run the fifteen suspects through every database he had access to and no hits. “I don’t get it Hawkes. I’ve run every suspect through the database and not one hit.”

“I’m right there with you. There is absolutely no forensic evidence. Basically, all I have is some unknown hairs, which could be from anyone since the women held a party in their room the night before they disappeared and a multitude of fingerprints. Most of the fingerprints were tied back to students, but there are a couple that are unknowns. This is just as frustrating as working our crime scenes!”

Danny nodded and sat back in his chair, popping the tension out of his neck. “I feel like we are missing something.” Hawkes nodded, but both stayed silent as they processed each of the crime scenes in their heads.

“Wait!” exclaimed Hawkes. “What is the first thing that we noticed about the crime scenes?” He didn’t wait for Danny to answer but continued, “The fake blood. This is someone that has access to movie products. Is there anyone in the suspect list that has experience?”

Danny looked through his papers again. “Not on the suspect list, but there are a couple of witness accounts that come from some people that were in the drama department at the boarding school. Let me run them.”

Danny began to run the witness reports and was surprised to get a hit on two of the witness’. “I got two hits. One is on a Henri Dubois. The second is a Charlotte Peterson.”

“Charlotte Peterson? Why does that name sound familiar to me?”

Danny drew his eyebrows together as he searched for more information on the new suspect. “She’s an American. Wait—she’s from New York City. She’s the only daughter of Carl and Beatrice Peterson. He’s a Park Avenue attorney.”

Hawkes nodded as his mind kept processing the information. “That’s not where I know her from. I think that I might have seen her at the last crime scene. Do you have a picture?” He walked behind Danny, who pulled up a newspaper picture of her. “That’s her! She’s the woman that Angell was talking to when we got to the scene.”

“Oh, yeah. I remember her now. Angell said that she told her that she didn’t know the victim, but had seen her around. Now why would she lie to us, unless she has something to hide?”

“Because she has something to hide. Reading through the reports that Interpol sent us, though, she has an airtight alibi for the time of the abduction. She was on stage giving a speech at the time.”

Hawkes hung his head. “Damn. I thought we were on to something. What about the other guy?”

“Henri Dubois. He was a teaching assistant at the boarding school in the drama department. He entered the country on a work Visa a year ago and has been working in the film industry doing special effects since then. His current address is in the Village.”

Hawkes smiled. “I do believe that we have enough to bring both of them in for questioning, don’t you?”

Danny smiled then looked at the clock. “Damn. The day is already gone. We can’t question them tonight. Both of us are maxed out on overtime and Mac will kill us if we don’t leave now.”

Hawkes looked disappointed, but then sighed pragmatically. “I supposed we’ve waited this long, so it’ll keep until tomorrow.” Hawked began to gather up the papers. “What are you up to tonight?”

“Taylor and Cory are going to have a girl’s night, so not much. Wanna grab a drink?”

Hawkes nodded. “Sure. Lydia said that she had to work late tonight. Want to go to Ray’s?”

Danny nodded in agreement as the both walked towards the locker room.

\------------------

Cory managed to leave early from work, for which she was entirely grateful for. She headed home, to make sure that everything was ready for Taylor to come over. Two hours later, she did one last walk through the apartment, making sure that everything was presentable. She smiled when she heard her buzzer ring. “Yes?”

_“It’s Taylor.”_

“Come on up, Tay.”

Cory walked into the kitchen and opened the bottle of wine she had set out for them. She had just poured two glasses when she heard a knock on the door. “It’s open,” she called.

She walked into the living room as Taylor walked in, dressed in her normal cami and camouflage. “Hey girl! How’ve ya been?”

Taylor sighed. “I absolutely can’t complain. I haven’t had any ghosts come and ask me for help since before the wedding. I don’t know what to do with my free time.”

“Enjoy the vacation! How are things with you and Marty going?”

Taylor flushed a little. “Very good. Both of our work schedules have calmed down enough that we’ve actually managed to go on a couple of real dates. I’d forgotten what those were.”

“I hear ya. Listen, I have a question for you.”

Taylor looked at Cory, who had a serious expression on her face. “What’s up?”

“You know that I see ghosts. Do you believe in premonitions?”

Taylor thought for a moment. “Well, I personally don’t have any experience with that, but after all that I’ve seen…I’m not willing to rule anything out. Why?”

Cory drew in a quick breath and explained her dream to her. “I’ll tell you. This has me freaked out beyond belief. If it really is a premonition, then sometime during the winter, New York is going to have another terrorist attack.”

Taylor whistled softly under her breath. “Damn. That’s just scary. And you have no idea why you had this dream?”

“Not a one. I woke up screaming. I’m just really glad that it happened on a night when Danny was working. I don’t know what he would have done if he’d been here with me.”

Taylor smiled. “Messer might surprise you. I can ask Maddy and Aiden for you, if they ever show up again.”

Cory just shook her head. “I don’t think that they will be able to help…Maddy is the one that introduced me to my spirit guide.”

“You have a spirit guide now? Why didn’t you tell me? Who is it?”

Cory laughed. “I didn’t tell you because we haven’t had more than a two second conversation since it happened and I assumed that Maddy had told you! As for who it is, it’s Armando.”

“The guy that was killed by Ortiz?”

“Right in one. Yeah, that’s about how I feel. Maddy said that we were entering into a tenuous time period in which The Powers felt like I needed some extra help. Armando was chosen to be my liaison, since he is trying to atone for the sins he committed entrenching himself into Mala Suerte. Both of them told me that we would talk about the why and wherefores later, but I haven’t had so much as a visit where I’ve actually been able to talk. The only time I’ve seen Armando since was when I was in Texas, interrogating Ortiz.”

“This is major, Cory. Maybe this explains why I haven’t seen a lot of ghosts lately. Maybe, they are saving my powers—and sanity—for bigger reasons.”

“That’s my fear, but I can’t seem to get a straight answer!”

Taylor looked deep in thought for a moment. “Have you tried to call to Armando? To see if he will come and answer your questions?”

“I didn’t think that it was possible. But I’ll try it.” She drew in a breath. “Armando? If you can hear me, can we talk?” Cory waited a minute, with no results. “Damn it, Armando! Get your pasty ghost ass down here now!”

“No need to be rude, Cory. I was tied up in other business. What can I do for you?” Armando asked as he appeared in front of her.

Cory exhaled in her irritation. “I need answers. I’m tired of waiting around for you to explain things, so I’m going to ask the hard questions. Why were you really sent to me?”

Armando exhaled, if a spirit could do so. “Maddy told you. We are entering a turbulent time in history. You are one of the key players to averting a great disaster. That really is the reason that I am here.”

“What kind of disaster?”

“I’m not a liberty to disclose that information.”

“Armando,” Cory said menacingly. “Just answer to stupid question.”

“I can’t, _chica._ I wish I could, but there are more forces at play that just you.”

Taylor caught his hidden meaning. “You are talking about me, right?” At Armando’s nod of agreement, she called out to Maddy and Aiden. Within moments, the two ghosts were also standing in front of them. “Okay,” Taylor started. “Cut the BS and tell us what is going on?”

Maddy looked at the other two ghosts. “We can’t. We can not give you any more knowledge than you are privy to right now. It’s against the rules.”

Taylor snorted. “Since when do I give a crap about rules, huh? The Powers have taken both of us on a twisted ride for their own pleasure. We want answers, now.”

Maddy and Aiden looked at each other. “Fine,” Aiden said. She turned to Cory, “You have had disturbing dreams, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Those dreams are a warning of what may come if certain things don’t change.” She held up her hand as both Taylor and Cory opened their mouths. “Don’t ask what…We really can not tell you that. Not even we have access to that sort of information.”

“Cory,” said Armando. “The dream you had was a precognitive dream. That is your main—um—talent. The future is not set in stone.”

“That’s right,” Maddy picked up. “The future is mutable. It changes with every single decision that a person makes. For instance, if I had not died, then Tay would not have a guide to help her with other ghosts.”

“And if I hadn’t let myself get so caught up in catching one sadistic killer, then more than likely Tay would be dead right now. Since Tay would be dead, then she could not have let the team know where you and Danny were and one of you would not have survived.”

Cory shook her head. “Okay, I get that. But why me?”

Armando shook his head. “I’m really not trying to go off topic here, but I think this will help you to understand better. There are certain people in the world with something a little extra. It tends to run in families. Did you tell your parents about seeing ghosts?”

Cory looked confused. “Yeah and they just about disowned me. We had the fight not to long after I moved back to New York.”

“Did they ever say that they didn’t believe you?”

“Now that you mention it, they never did. They just told me that I was playing with forces that I couldn’t control and if I continued then I would die.”

Armando nodded. “This much we can tell you, ask your mother about having precognitive abilities. I think the answer might surprise you.”

Cory felt the light go on in her head. “You mean to tell me that my mother can do the same thing and she is judging me for using the ability?” she snarled.

Armando held up her hand. “I’m not saying anything. As it is, we’ve said too much and it’s time for us to go.”

Maddy and Aiden nodded in agreement as the three ghosts vanished.

Cory and Taylor both sighed in frustration. “Well,” began Cory. “That was informative. Is it just me or are you just as confused as I am right now?”

Taylor nodded. “It’s not just you. Every time I try to broach a subject like this with them, I always end up with more questions than answers.”

“Good God. I have a headache. What do you say we call it a night? I think I’m going to take some aspirin and hit the sack.

Taylor stood up. “I agree. Maybe if we sleep on it, the answers will come to us.”

Cory laughed as she stood up. “Maybe.” She gave Taylor a hug goodbye. “Stay safe on the way home.”

“Night.”


	14. Here's to you Mr. Robinson

Chapter 14.

** Here’s to you…Mr. Robinson? **

Danny and Hawkes were back at the lab, bright and early the next morning. Hawkes brought the coffee this time. They sat, patiently waiting for Detective Angell to arrive with the warrant. They had only been waiting for fifteen minutes when she arrived.

“Messer. Hawkes. I got the warrant, you guys ready to go?”

In response, both men just got up and began to walk towards the elevator. Danny and Hawkes drove in one of the lab vans, while Angell took a police SUV.

It only took thirty minutes to drive to Henri Dubois’ apartment and when they got there, they proceeded with caution. Angell took the lead as they walked up the stairs. When they arrived at the apartment, with the manager in tow, Angell knocked loudly on the door. “NYPD. Henri Dubois, open the door.”

There was silence from the apartment, so Angell motioned to the manager. “Unlock the door, please.” The man quickly unlocked the door, and the three detectives walked in.

The apartment was a mess. Clothes, books, various special effects equipment and pizza boxes were strewn around the room in a haphazard manner. Angell looked around and scrunched her nose in disgust. “Hawkes, Messer, start processing the place.”

Danny and Hawkes nodded. Hawkes took the living room, while Danny walked into the bedroom. 

“Hawkes?” he called out in an urgent manner. “We have a body in here! I think it’s Charlotte Peterson.”

Hawkes and Angell ran into the bedroom. Hawkes immediately ran to the prone woman lying in the bed. He immediately checked for a pulse while Angell called for an ambulance. “She’s alive.” He turned to the woman and called softly, “Charlotte? Can you hear me?”

The woman groaned softly, but did not open her eyes. Hawkes pried open her eye and flashed a light in it. “It looks like she’s in shock. She could have been drugged. I won’t know any more without a tox screen.” Danny nodded and paced beside the bed.

Angell murmured into the phone to the dispatcher, so the paramedics would have all the information they needed.

Hawkes looked at Danny pacing. “Messer, start taking photographs of her. I see rope burns on her wrists.”

Danny nodded and took out his camera. He calmly began to photograph the scene, so that the visual evidence would be preserved. He had just finished, when the paramedics arrived.

Quickly, Charlotte was loaded onto the stretcher and carried out; Hawkes close behind so that he could assist the paramedics in case she went into further shock.

Danny went back to processing the apartment, finding a couple of knives that tested positive for human blood. He also found a store of hallucinogenic drugs and various other forms of drug paraphernalia. He motioned to Angell. “I do believe that we have found our killer’s lair. I’m going to spray everything down with Luminal and see if there is anymore blood residue. Can you close the blinds?”

“Sure, Messer. Do what ya gotta do.” She walked over and quickly shut all the blinds, leaving the room in semidarkness. Danny turned on his UV light and the evidence of blood splatter was everywhere. 

He began to take swabs of the different pools of blood that he found. A couple of hours later, he was finished and he repacked his kit. He sighed in exhaustion, drawing Angell’s attention.

“You okay, Messer?” she asked.

“Fine. Just tired. I need to take all of this back to the lab. Do you have an APB out on Dubois?”

“Yeah. Called it in a couple of hours ago. No sign of him here or at his job. Looks like he has disappeared.”

Danny just shook his head. “Maybe we’ll be able to find him with all this evidence. I wonder if Charlotte is awake yet.”

\---------------------

At the hospital, Hawkes was talking to Charlotte’s doctor. “So, so you have the results from the tox screen?”

“Yes. It looks like she was kept on sedatives. I also found traces of Rohypnol in her system. Other than the rope burns, I don’t see any other physical trauma on her. I had a nurse run a sexual assault kit. It came back negative.”

Hawkes nodded while he looked at her chart. “Good. Has she woken up yet?”

The doctor nodded, “No. I think that she will be out until tomorrow.”

Hawkes nodded. “Okay. Call me if anything changes.” Hawkes handed him back the chart and walked out of the ER.

\----------------------------

When Hawkes got back to the lab, he filled Danny in on the doctor’s finding. Danny nodded, unsurprised. “With all the drugs that we found at the apartment, I’m surprised she didn’t have anything else in her system. I have about a hundred different blood samples to run through DNA and we have no clue where Dubois is.”

Hawkes heard the frustration in his voice. “Ease up, Dan. We can’t do everything at one time. Let me help you run the blood and let Angell worry about catching Dubois. That’s her job. Our job is to get the evidence to put him away once he is arrested.”

Danny sighed. “Alright, I get cha. I’m overreacting. It’s just…things are so crazy right now. Cory, the assassin. The crazy case! I need a vacation.”

Hawkes laughed. “Don’t we all? The only cure is to focus on our jobs and catch the bad guys.”

Danny laughed in response and handed over half of the swabs he was working on, so that Hawkes could help prepare them for DNA testing. Both knew that with as many samples that they had, it would take the DNA lab several days to run them all.

It took them a couple of hours to get all of the DNA evidence ready to be processed, then they both started to process the rest of the evidence that Danny had gathered from the apartment.

Hawkes looked all around him. “Okay. From this evidence, I’m making a pretty well educated guess that Henri Dubois is our killer. But why? What’s his motive?”

Danny nodded his head. “I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense. Why would a drama teacher kill all of the girls? He has a good job in the special effects industry and from the picture I saw of him, he’s not bad looking. This is just not adding up!”

Hawkes understood his frustration. “I think that we are missing something here. Maybe Charlotte can fill in the blanks when she wakes up.”

Mac walked into the room. “Danny, Hawkes. What do you have here?”

Danny quickly gave him the rundown and also voiced his frustration to him. “Sometimes there is no motive, Danny,” Mac said in a matter of fact manner. “Sometimes, a killer just kills to kill. But I don’t think that is the case here. I think that the reason that we don’t know the motive is because something happened in Switzerland. Unfortunately, the evidence that you have from the Swiss police is not showing the motive and the only people that can answer it are dead or in the hospital. Listen, why don’t you and Hawkes take off for the day. You’ve been here for ten hours and just staring at the evidence is not going to help you. Go home, get some sleep and then talk to Charlotte in the morning.”

Danny nodded. “Kay, Mac. It might be nice to spend a little time with Cory.”

Hawkes also nodded then turned to Danny. “I have an idea. How about we take our girls to the movies? It’s been a long time since we spent quality time with them.”

Danny smiled. “Perfect. I know just the movie. Cory wants to see it, but we haven’t had time.” At Hawkes’ confused look, he continued, “Knocked Up. I’ve heard that it’s really funny and I think that’s what we need to see right now.”

Hawkes laughed. “Perfect. I’ll call Lydia and tell her that I am kidnapping her to go to the movies.” With that, both men walked into the locker room, feeling in a much better mood.

\------------------------------

The following morning, Danny and Hawkes were in a better mood. They both agreed that the movie was the funniest that they had seen in a while. They were still discussing it, while changing in the locker room.

“Man,” Danny said. “That was the funniest movie! It makes me think. What would I do in that situation? I love Cory and all, but I don’t know if I’m ready for kids yet.”

Hawkes nodded his head. “I don’t think anyone is ready for a little spawn of Messer! Hey! Don’t hit with that!” Hawkes ducked as a towel came flying at his head. “It’s just a joke.”

Danny rolled his eyes. Both men turned as the door opened and Mac walked in. “I think that you might get some of your questions answered. Charlotte Peterson is in interview. She was released earlier this morning and voluntarily came in.” Mac turned to leave. “Oh and Danny? Hawkes is right, no one is ready for Messer kids.”

Danny just stood there with his mouth hanging open as Hawkes bent over in laughter.

\-------------------------------

Danny walked into the interview room, where Charlotte and Angell were waiting. Hawkes was going to watch from the two way mirror.

Charlotte looked at them, a little fear in her eyes. “Thank you for saving me. I thought I was going to die,” she said softly.

Danny looked at the attractive blonde, feeling his attitude soften a little. “Can you tell us what happened?”

Charlotte took a breath and began her story. “Henri asked me to come by for tea. The next thing I knew, I was tied up on a bed. I tried to break free, but he just laughed. Then he gave me a drink of water. I don’t remember anything after that until I woke up in the hospital.”

Angell took over the questioning. “Why do you think he would do that? Does it have anything to do with Anna, Marie, Carolina and Abigail?”

Charlotte looked at the detective in wonder. “How do you know about them?”

Danny looked at her. “We found their bodies. You went to school with them.”

Charlotte nodded, but Angell decided to play bad cop to Danny’s good cop. “Why did you lie to me about knowing Abigail, Charlotte? This is not looking good for you. You lied to a police officer in a homicide investigation. That tells me that you had something to do with their deaths.”

Charlotte’s already pale face lost any trace of color. “I didn’t! I swear, I didn’t have anything to do with their deaths!”

Danny picked up his cue, perfectly. “Okay. I believe you. Why don’t you tell us the whole truth? Like why did Henri kidnap Anna and Marie?”

Charlotte nodded. “I swear, I’ll tell you everything. I knew them in boarding school. We weren’t good friends or anything, but they were nice. While I don’t know if this is true or not, there’s a rumor that went around school after they disappeared. There was talk that they had been sexually assaulted by a teacher and were going to go to the authorities about it.”

Angell looked at her and snorted. “Then why did the police not put that in the report?”

“People were too scared to talk. Plus, this rumor didn’t start until about a month after their disappearance.” At Danny’s encouraging nod she continued. “Anyway, I was getting ready to leave for the States, when I had an encounter with Henri. I had just graduated and he asked me out to dinner. I don’t remember a lot of that night, but I know that I had sex with him.

“It wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that I figured out that he had slipped me a roofie. So I was blind when he started to seduce me. I was so overwhelmed! He’s French, you know, totally gorgeous and he wanted me. I was the plain girl at school.”

She broke off for a moment there and Danny decided to probe her for information. “Did he ask you to do anything for him?”

Charlotte nodded. “He wanted my help to get into the business. You see, Daddy has some contacts in the movie business. It’s not fair! All he wanted to do was use me, for my connections.” She started to cry and accepted the handkerchief that Danny offered her with a watery smile.

“Charlotte,” he said softly. “I know that this is painful, but we want to catch him. I need your help to do that. Please continue with your story.”

She nodded. “So, I got him a job in the industry. We dated for a couple of months when he moved over here, but then he started to push me away. Then you found Abigail and my mind started working. Why was she there?”

Angell interrupted her. “Why did you lie to me about knowing her?”

Charlotte sighed. “I knew that she was found in Henri’s apartment. I leased it for him under an alias. I wanted someplace safe that we could meet, without my parents asking questions. I loved him. But when I found out that Abigail had been murdered, I realized that the person that the rumors had been about was him! So he asked me for tea, and I wanted to confront him, but I never got a chance.”

Danny and Angell exchanged a glance. Danny then looked back at Charlotte. “Why don’t you stay here for a bit? Dubois can’t get you in here.” He took another look at Angell and they both walked out of the room.

Angell started working on all the angels out loud. “So, we have a teacher who sexually assaulted at least two of his students. Said students were going to turn him in, so he kidnapped them. He then seduces another student to get into the US. So why kill them two years later?”

Hawkes looked at her. “Simple. They were a burden to him. Chances are, he kept them in the apartment that Danny searched. Once he killed them, he had to kill all links to him. Thus, their friends were lured here. The only one he didn’t have a chance to kill was Charlotte. I’m sure he didn’t know that we were on to him, otherwise she would be dead.”

Danny nodded in his agreement. “We need to get her into protective custody until we find Dubois.”

“I agree,” said Angell. “I’ll get the paperwork started.” She walked down the hall, while Danny and Hawkes went back to the lab, to see if they could figure out were Dubois had gone.


	15. A Tale of Two Cities

Chapter 15.

** A Tale of Two Cities **

When Danny got home that night, he was feeling very discouraged. They had not been able to determine where Dubois might have gone. He was sitting on the couch, a beer dangling in his fingers when Cory got home.

Cory walked into the dark living room and noticed Danny sitting on the couch. “Danny? _Chere?_ Are you okay?”

“No,” came the quiet reply. “Ya know. Sometimes this job sucks.”

Cory sat down, stunned. “What happened today?”

“We found out who the killer is. He was a teacher at the boarding school. I don’t understand how someone in that position can abuse their power like that? He was molesting these girls. Probably raping them. Then he kills them because they are going to go to the authorities. That’s just…” Danny trailed off in his disgust.

Cory got up and walked over to where he was sitting. Silently, she began to massage his shoulders, trying to decide what she needed to say. “You know, I’ve been working to put away some of the nastiest pieces of horse manure that the human society has to offer. There is no answer to your question. I don’t think anyone can comprehend what makes a killer’s mind work. I’m sure that it has something to do with having power over something.”

Danny sighed, knowing that she was right. “I know. It’s still frustrating.”

Cory laughed. “That’s part of being a cop, sweetie. That’s why you just have to do your best to put him away when you do find him.”

Danny took a swig of his beer. “Awright. How was your day?”

Cory shrugged her shoulders. “Same old thing. Still trying to track down the Martinez Brothers. Right now, they are in Venezuela, so I’m not really going to get a chance to arrest them. I just want to get enough evidence so that if they ever step foot on American soil again, they will be arrested. That’s all I can do now.”

Danny tilted his head back to look at her. “You’ll catch them, ya know. You’re too good at your job not to.”

Cory smiled, “Thanks, sweetie. I think I needed to hear that.” She leaned over to kiss him, but the phone rang. Reaching over him, she picked it up. “Hello?”

_“Cory?”_

“Elizabeth? What are you doing calling me?”

Danny looked up at Cory. _Elizabeth_ _? Cory’s sister? I thought that they weren’t speaking. Something about a fight that they had._

_“Yeah. I just wanted to call and to apologize to you. I never should have yelled at you for moving away. I miss you.”_

Cory smiled and settled onto the couch. “I miss you to. I understand why you were upset that I moved, but this is where I’m meant to be.”

_“I know. Just as I can tell by your voice that you are happy. But, that’s not the only reason I called.”_

“Okay. Why did you call?”

_“You have got to mend fences with Mom and Dad. It’s been murder since you’ve been gone. Anytime I try to ask them something about you, Mom looks pissed and Dad just walks away! What happened?”_

Cory sighed. “I wish I could tell you, but it’s between me and them. The most I can tell you is that they disagreed with some of my decisions. I’ve tried to call them. But they won’t return my calls. I don’t even know if they got my warning about the assassin that is after me.”

_“They did. They warned me and that is actually what gave me the courage to make this phone call. I didn’t want anything to happen with you thinking that I was still mad at you. I have taken steps to ensure my safety.”_

Cory breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. I’m worried about y’all. What about Mom and Dad? Have they taken protective measures?”  
  


 _“Yeah. I think they are planning on coming a visiting you. Dad said that he was tired of the rift and he didn’t care what Mom said, he was going to get his daughter back.”_ Elizabeth laughed. _“I actually felt a little jealous that that! But we’ve come to an understanding.”_

Cory laughed, too. “I’m glad. I never meant for you to have to deal with my demons. How’s your practice going?”

_“Oh, you know. Same old thing. Trying to put away the bad guys. I blame you, you know. I wanted to be a defense attorney! But, no. You had to be all idealistic and shit and convince me to be the ADA. Speaking of which, I just got a promotion!”_

“You got a promotion! Congratulations!”

_“Thanks. I have to thank your friend, Tim. He decided to move back to New York, so I got his job!”_

“That’s great, Beth! You deserve it. You’ve worked so hard. I’m so proud of you.”

They continued to talk until Cory looked at the clock and realized that they had been talking for almost an hour. “Sis, I hate to do this, but I’ve got to go. I have to make dinner for Danny and me.”

_“You cook for him? Why doesn’t he cook for you?”_

Cory rolled her eyes. “He does, but tonight’s my night to cook. He’s been dealing with a tough case and I want to pamper him a bit.”

_“Well, in that case, don’t let me stop you. Next time you’re down here, let’s have lunch. I miss talking to you.”_

“I miss talking to you, too. Bye.”

Cory hung up the phone and walked into the kitchen, only to find Danny putting a salad together. “Sorry! I know it’s my night to cook.”

“Whatever, _bella._ I know that you were talking with your sister and I don’t mind.”

Cory walked up behind him and put her arms around his waist. “What did I do to deserve such a great boyfriend?”

“You’re great in bed.”

“Danny!” Cory smacked him on his behind. “You’ll pay for that comment.”

Danny waggled his eyebrows. “You promise?” Then he bent his head and captured her lips in a soft kiss.

\---------------------------

The next morning, Danny and Cory woke up at the same time. Danny looked down at Cory, a smile on his face. “Mornin’.”

Cory smiled back at him, giving him a small kiss. “Mornin’.” She stretched and yawned, feeling at peace for the moment.

Danny looked down at her and gave her a wink. “Why don’t you hit the shower first? I’ll make breakfast.”

Cory shook her head. “No. You go ahead. I don’t have to be in until late and since you cooked dinner last night, I don’t feel right not cooking.”

Danny tried to protest, but Cory just brushed him off, walking out of the bedroom. Deciding to take a quick shower, he made his way into the bathroom. Once he was done, he walked into the kitchen, where Cory was making pancakes.

Cory winked at him when he walked in. “I hope you’re hungry. I know I certainly worked up an appetite last night.”

“You’re just insatiable.”

“Whatever, Messer. I didn’t hear you complaining last night. Why don’t you finish the pancakes and I’ll go take a shower.”

Danny nodded his agreement and Cory walked into the bathroom.

\---------------------------------

Elizabeth Reid also woke up early the next day. She hummed softly along with the radio, feeling confident that her family was once again going to be a family. She trusted Cory enough that she was sure that Cory could mend fences with her dad.

She took a quick shower and quickly dried her shoulder length blonde hair. She applied a light dusting of make-up and drove to her office. When she got there, she grabbed her mail from her secretary. She sat down at her desk and began to open the envelopes. She paused when she came across a plain white envelope with her name typed on it. Cautiously, she opened it.

_“I know where you live.”_

Elizabeth read that line and dropped the letter in horror. “Oh, God. Is this the assassin?” She walked quickly to her door and turned to her secretary. “Sally? Can you please get me a plain plastic bag?”

Sally looked at her with a question in her eyes. “Don’t ask, just do it. I’ll explain later.” Elizabeth turned back to her desk and picked up the phone, dialing a familiar number. “I’d like to speak to Agent Henderson, please.” Elizabeth waited for a moment. “Agent Henderson? Hi. It’s Elizabeth Reid. Cory’s sister.”

_“Hi. How are you?”_ Agent Henderson asked.

“I’m good. How are you?”

_“I can’t complain. What can I do to help you?”_

“I have a bit of a problem. Did you hear about the contract out on Cory’s life?”

_“Yes. I was very disturbed to hear that.”_

“Yes, well, it seems like this assassin likes to strike at the person’s friends and family. I got a disturbing note. It read, ‘I know where you live.’ I’d like to see if you can send someone out to review it.”

_“Certainly! I’ll send someone right now. Have you told Cory?”_

“Not yet. That’s my next call. I just wanted to notify you first.”

_“Definitely. I’ll have someone out there within the hour. Are you still working for the Federal DA’s office?”_

“Yes. Thank you so much. I’ll let you go now. I know that you are busy.”

_“Sure. Be careful. Bye.”_

Sighing, Elizabeth hung up the phone not looking forward to calling her sister.

\--------------------------------

At lunch time Danny was still at the lab processing the evidence when he got the call. TSA agents had detained Henri Dubois at LaGuardia Airport where he had been about to board a flight for Nepal. Smiling in triumph, he made sure that he had all of the evidence processed while Angell went down to arrest him. He called Cory, to let her know and was surprised to learn that she was on her way to meet him for lunch. She arrived just was Dubois was brought in.

Angell smiled at Cory, when she saw her. “Cory, you are way too uncanny. How did you know that we would need your help?” At Cory’s confused look, she continued, “He’s pretending that he doesn’t speak anything but French.”

“Oh…” Cory trailed off. Then she winked. “I think I can help with that!”

Angell laughed and motioned for Cory to follow her into the interrogation room with Hawkes. Cory walked in silently. She scrutinized Dubois, deciding that he wasn’t nearly as good looking as his picture.

Angell started the investigation. “Mr. Dubois. I am Detective Angell. Are you aware of why you are here?”

Dubois looked at her. “ _Je ne comprends pas.”_

Cory fought down an urge to roll her eyes. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he understood Angell perfectly. She decided to step in. _“Bonjour, Monsieur Dubois. Mon nom est l'agent spécial Corrine Reid avec le FBI. C'est Angell révélateur avec le NYPD. Comprenez-vous pourquoi vous êtes ici?”_

Dubois looked at her, with surprise in his eyes. “ _Non.”_

Cory looked at Angell. “Tell him whatever you want and I’ll translate for you.”

Angell nodded. “You are here because of the deaths of four women and the assault of a fifth woman who was found in your apartment. We have evidence and an eyewitness to prove your involvement.”

Dubois began to talk rapidly in French. Cory waited patiently while he finished his tirade. She held back a laugh of derision as she translated. “He says he has no idea what you are talking about. He said that he is here legally and you have no reason to hold him.” She turned towards the two-way mirror and raised her eyebrows at Danny.

Danny saw her gaze and laughed as he could tell she was trying not to laugh.

Angell rolled her eyes. “I do have the reason and the evidence to back up my claims. Do you know these women?” she asked as she placed photos of the women on the table.

Cory translated as he looked at the pictures. He said, “ _Non.”_

“Why are you lying to me? I know for a fact that you know all of these women. They were students at the boarding school where you taught drama.”

Dubois stayed silent while Cory translated.

“Aren’t you going to defend yourself?” Angell asked.

Cory waited patiently while Dubois talked nonchalantly. “He says that now that you mention that they were at the boarding school, he remembers them. But you can’t expect him to remember every single student he ever taught. Plus, they look different than they did in high school.”

Hawkes decided to step in at that moment. “We have evidence from your apartment that reveals that each of these women were there. There is blood and DNA present in your apartment. Now, why don’t you cooperate?”

Dubois lost his façade at that point and responded in English. “Why? You’re going to convict me anyway.”

Angell looked at him. “With the evidence we have, yes. We just want a reason.”

Dubois laughed. “There is none. Their time on this earth was up and it was my job to end it.”

Angell raised her eyebrows in disgust. “So this had nothing to do with the fact that you raped these women and they were going to bring charges against you.”

Dubois didn’t answer.

“Since you admitted to killing these women, let me read you your rights.” Angell began to recite the Miranda as she put the handcuffs on him. When she was done, she led him out of the room and towards booking.

Cory looked at Hawkes. “Wow. He’s a slimy piece of work.” She was about to continue when her phone rang. “Hello?”

_“Cory?”_

“Elizabeth? What’s wrong?”

_“I think I got a note from the assassin today. It was on plain paper and it just said I know where you live. I gave it to Agent Henderson. He’s going to run the forensics on it.”_

“Beth. Be careful. I want you to have around the clock protection. Don’t go anywhere alone. If I could convince you, I’d tell you to go into hiding, but I know you’re stubborn, so I’m not going to press that. What about Mom and Dad? Has he contacted them?”

_“Not that I know of. I did call them to let them know and Dad said that there wasn’t anything in their mailbox. He said that since there was circumstantial evidence to show that he was in Texas, he was going to step up his own security.”_

Cory breathed a sigh of relief at that, while Danny walked into the room, a question in his eyes. “Okay, sis. I love you. Please be careful. I’ll call Mom tonight and see if we can mend fences.”

_“I love you, too. Be careful. Talk to ya later.”_

Cory hung up the phone and turned into Danny’s arms. “Frasier contacted Beth. He sent her a note saying that he knows where she lives.”

Danny’s arms surrounded her in comfort. “ _Bella._ It’s okay. You’re family is taking steps to protect themselves. That’s all you can do. Why don’t you go back to work? I’ll finish all this paperwork and then we can go to dinner. How about _Francesca’s_?”

Cory smiled. “Sounds perfect.” Cory gave him a small kiss. “I’d better head back. Since I ended up in the interrogation, I don’t have time for lunch now.”

Danny nodded his understanding. “Have a good day. I’ll see you tonight.”

\------------------------

When Cory got back to her office, she sat at her desk, deep in thought. Finding some courage, she picked up her phone and dialed a number.

_“Hello?”_

“Hi, Daddy. It’s your oldest daughter.” She held her breath, both from surprise and from fear that he would hang up the phone.

_“Hi, pumpkin. How are you?”_

Cory smiled in relief. “Busy. Have you talked to Beth today?”

_“I have. She told me about the letter. I’ve had security tightened around your mother and me.”_

“Good. I was worried. I’m sorry about the way I left. I never should have sprung the whole seeing ghosts things on you two.”

Harold Reid laughed. _“It was definitely a surprise. I’m trying to get your mother to accept it. She is where you get your stubbornness from. I know what you did was hard, but I can tell how happy you are. I think you made the right decision. Darlin’, my other line is ringing. I’ve been waiting on this call; can I call you back later?”_

“Sure, Daddy. I love you.”

_“I love you, too, sweetheart. Bye.”_

Cory smiled as she hung up the phone, pleasantly surprised that her dad didn’t hate her. With lightness in her heart, she got back to work.

\------------------------

After they got home from _Francesca’s_ , Danny and Cory sat on the couch, thinking about the events that had transpired that day. Cory was silent as the realization that her family was in danger actually set in. Danny saw the worried look on her face. “Are you okay?”

Cory looked into his eyes. “Just worried. The realization that my family could get hurt is starting to set in. Oh, I talked to my Dad today. He’s okay with my decision to move to New York, now. He’s trying to get my mother to forgive me.”

Danny noticed the tidbit of information she just had given him. “Is that why you never talk about them?”

Cory nodded to him. “Yeah. We had this big fight before I left about me seeing ghosts. My mom just went ballistic when I told her. I’ve never seen her so upset. My dad followed her lead. She told me if I left, then I was no longer her daughter.” Cory shuddered a bit at the admission.

Danny felt her shiver and hugged her tighter to himself. “I’m sorry, _bella._ That sounds a bit like how my dad reacted when I told him I was joining the force. Talk about going outside the family.”

Cory nodded. She leaned back onto Danny, soaking in a bit of his strength. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you before. I just…” she trailed off.

“Admitting it made it real?”

Cory nodded. “Exactly.” She yawned. “Wow, I’m tired. I think I’m going to hit the sack.” She extracted herself from Danny’s arm and started walking towards the bedroom, Danny following her.

Danny had just made it to the hallway, when the phone rang. He went back, to pick it up and Cory continued into the bedroom.

When Cory got into the bedroom, she noticed that it was very cold. She looked up and saw Armando standing beside the bed, looking grim. “Armando?”

“I’m sorry, Cory.”

“What are you sorry for?” she asked.

Armando didn’t answer. He just motioned to a spot behind her.

Meanwhile, Danny had answered the phone. “Hello?”

_“Is Cory there?”_ asked a tear-filled female voice.

“Can I ask who is calling?”

_“This is Beth. Is this Danny?”_

“Yeah. She’s headed to bed, Beth. Do you want me to get her?”

_“Please. I need to tell her…”_

Danny felt lead fill his stomach. “Tell her what?”

Danny did not get a chance to hear her response. He heard a scream ring out from the bedroom and dropped the phone to run in there. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation of French
> 
> Hello, Mr. Dubois. My name is Special Agent Corrine Reid with the FBI. This is Detective Angell with the NYPD. Do you understand why you are here?


	16. Broken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> : I obviously do not own CSI: NY. I just own my car, my laptop and my crazy muse who seems to want to write 4 different stories at a time. I also do own any characters that you do not recognize. You can borrow them if you ask permission first! I still do not own Taylor or Maddy. They belong to Axellia.

Chapter 16.

** Broken **

Danny ran into the bedroom, fear overwhelming him. He was almost relieved to find Cory alone, with no intruder in sight. He dropped down beside her, pulling the sobbing woman into his arms. “Cory? What’s wrong?”

Cory just continued to cry. Through her sobs, he heard, “Daddy.”

Danny looked around the room, but was unable to see the two ghosts that were standing over her protectively. He tried a couple of more times to get Cory to talk, but gave up when she was unable to answer him. He picked her up and put her in the bed. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and quickly made a call.

_“Hello?”_

“Taylor, it’s Danny. I need you over at my apartment. I think…Well, I’m not going to speculate right now, but Cory needs a friend.”

_“Maddy warned me. I’m almost there.”_ Danny could hear the concerned tone in Taylor’s voice. _“Give me five minutes and then you can buzz me up.”_

Danny felt a little relief flood through him. “Just buzz. See ya in a few.” He hung up the phone and continued to stroke Cory’s hair in a rhythmic manner. Slowly, her sobs subsided and in a couple of minutes, she was asleep. Danny got up and started towards the living room, so he could let Taylor in. He paused in the hallway, noticing that the phone was still on the floor. Swearing under his breath, he picked it back up. “Elizabeth?”

Danny just heard buzzing coming from the phone. _Damn it! I don’t even have her number to call her back. Shit._ He hung the phone just as the buzzer rang. He quickly buzzed Taylor up.

He opened the door to see a very concerned Taylor standing on his doorstep. “Hey, Tay.”

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“I’m not sure. We got a phone call, it was her sister Elizabeth. Beth was crying, but before I could find out why I heard a scream. I ran into the bedroom and Cory was incoherent. The only thing I could make out was the word daddy.”

Taylor nodded. “I’m willing to bet that she saw her father’s ghost.”

Danny nodded in agreement. “You’d win. I’m hoping that he’s still here and you can talk to him.”

Taylor smiled, thinking about Danny’s acceptance of her gift. “I’ll try.” She began to walk towards the bedroom, Danny close behind.

When Taylor walked into the bedroom, the first thing she noticed was the cold temperature. She then saw the two ghosts standing beside the bed. She inclined her head towards Armando. She then turned to the other ghost, who bore a resemblance to Cory. “You must be Mr. Reid.” The ghost nodded. “Did you talk to her?”

Harold looked at Taylor, seemingly debating with himself about talking to her. Taylor looked at Armando. “Armando, please. I can’t help unless I know what happened. Remember, I went though something similar when Maddy died.”

Armando nodded to her and then looked at Harold. “It’s okay. You can talk to her.”

Harold nodded and turned back to Taylor. “No, I didn’t talk to her. She turned around and saw me, then collapsed.”

Taylor nodded and began to question him. “How did you die?”

“I can’t tell you that. That’s not why I am here.”

“Then why are you here?”

“To tell my daughter that I love her and to tell her that she needs to talk to her mother.”

Taylor thought about that for a moment. She then dared another question. “Were you killed by the assassin?”

Harold didn’t answer, which was an answer in itself. 

Taylor looked at Cory, who was still sleeping deeply. Sighing, she turned back to Harold. “Perhaps it would be best, if you weren’t the first thing that she saw when she wakes up.”

Armando cleared his throat. “She’s right, Harold. Look how she reacted when she saw you. She needs some time to process.”

Harold nodded and with a look, both ghosts disappeared. 

Taylor sighed as they left which caused Danny to look at her. “Okay,” he said. “From what I gathered, he was murdered.”

Taylor looked at him. “He wouldn’t tell me anything. He just said he was here to say good-bye. But I think he was killed by that assassin. He said that she needed to talk to her mom.”

Danny nodded, thinking over his conversation with Cory the previous night. “I think that is best. They need to end the feud between them.” He glanced at the sleeping woman, then back at Taylor. “Look. You want a drink or something? She’s probably going to sleep for a while.”

Taylor smiled and nodded. “Yeah. You might also want to call the rest of the team and let them know.” She got off the bed. “Why don’t you start making phone calls and I’ll get us some drinks. Beer, okay?”

Danny nodded and got out his phone.

\---------------------

When Cory awoke, her eyes felt grimy and swollen. She lay in bed for a moment trying to figure out what happened. _What’s going on? The last thing I remember is the phone ringing and then…_ Her thoughts slammed into a wall as she remembered what she had seen. She whimpered a bit as the emotions overwhelmed her. _Oh, Daddy. Why?_

Taylor heard the whimper and walked back into the bedroom. “Hey, Cory. How are you feeling?”

Cory felt her heart sink even more at the sight of Taylor. “It wasn’t a dream, was it?” she asked quietly.

Taylor smiled sadly. “No, sweetie. It wasn’t. I’m so sorry.”

Cory shut her eyes and tried to force the tears away. “Where’s Danny?”

“He finally fell asleep on the couch. Do you want me to get him for you?”

Cory shook her head. “No.” She sat up in the bed and drew her legs to her chest. Tiredly, she laid her forehead on her knees. “I don’t understand. What happened? Was it Frasier? Or was it natural?”

Taylor took her time in answering. “I saw him, you know. I talked with him. He wouldn’t tell me how he died and just by that I think that he was killed. He’s still around because he wants to give you a message. I warned him not to be around when you woke up. I didn’t want you to be overwhelmed again.”

Cory lifted her head and looked at Taylor in her eyes. “Thanks, Tay. You’re a good friend.” She looked up at the ceiling and called out, “Armando?”

Taylor watched as Armando appeared. “Cory? I’m so sorry. I wish I didn’t have to be the messenger. I never thought that I’d have to do this.”

Cory just smiled. “I understand. Is he still around?”

Armando nodded and Harold appeared at his side. “Hi, pumpkin.”

Cory looked at her father, tears shining in her eyes. “Hi, Daddy. What happened?”

Harold shook his head. “It’s not my place to tell you. You’ll know soon enough. I’m here to tell you that I love you. You never lost your place in my heart.”

Cory’s tears spilled silently down her face. “I love you, too.” She sniffed a little.

“Pumpkin, don’t cry for me. I had a good life. I’m worried about your mother.”

That startled Cory out of her morose thoughts. “What? Why?”

“She’s taking this very hard and she’s very angry. You need to talk to her. Go to her. Make her understand that this was meant to be. Even if you had stayed in Dallas. It was my time.”

“But, Daddy…”

Harold face grew stern. “No buts, young lady. You could not have changed this fate. If this hadn’t happened, something else would have.”

Cory nodded understanding, but not wanting to accept the realization. “Okay. I won’t question you. I miss you already, Daddy.”

Harold smiled. “I’ll miss you, too, pumpkin. I need to go now. I need to move on. Just know that I am happy. I have faith that you will work it out with your mom.” He blew her a kiss then Armando and he disappeared. 

Taylor moved on the bed, so she could hug Cory. “I’m really sorry. I know that this doesn’t help, but he is in a better place.”

Cory just nodded as the tears continued to roll down her face.


	17. Repercussions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I obviously do not own CSI: NY. I just own my car, my laptop and my crazy muse who seems to want to write 4 different stories at a time. I also do own any characters that you do not recognize. You can borrow them if you ask permission first! I still do not own Taylor or Maddy. They belong to Axellia.

Chapter 17.

** Repercussions **

Cory and Taylor talked for a couple of hours, with Cory trying to come to terms with her grief. They were only interrupted by a sleepy-eyed Danny walking into the room.

“Cory, _bella_ ,” he said. “How are you?”

Cory looked at Danny. “I’m not sure. I need to make arrangements to go to Texas and talk with Mom. I just…” she trailed off.

“I know. Beth called. I think she was calling to tell you that your dad had died, but then I heard you scream. I’ve never been more terrified than when I was running into the room.”

“She called? I’d better call her back.” Cory reached for her cell phone and soon was talking to her sister. After reassuring her that she was fine, she promised that she would be in Dallas by the next day and hung up.

Taylor looked at her. “I’d better go. Marty should be getting off work now, and I need some time to process everything.”

Cory looked at her. “Thanks, Tay. For everything.”

Taylor smiled and left.

Danny sat down on the bed and drew Cory into his arms. “I wish I could do something.”

“You just being here is enough Danny. I’m glad that you’re here. It makes the grief more bearable.”

Danny nodded and just held her in his arms until they both fell asleep.

(BREAK)

The next morning, Cory woke up still in a somber mood. She quietly disentangled herself from Danny’s arms. Sighing, she made her way into the living room, to try to arrange a flight to Dallas. Once she purchased her ticket, she picked up the phone to call Agent Michaels.

_“Michaels.”_

“It’s Cory.”

_“Is everything alright, Cory? You sound different.”_

“My father was killed last night. I need to go to Dallas.”

_“Oh my God. Are you alright?”_

“I’m not quite sure what I am yet, other than really pissed off. I just…I just need to be with my family right now.”

_“Understandable. I’ll have Lydia cover for you. Take as long as you need.”_

“Thank you, Agent Michaels. I’ll keep in touch and let you know when I’m expected back.”

_“I appreciate that. Do you think that it was Frasier?”_

Cory swallowed, trying to fight down her rage. “Yeah. I do. And I know that since I’m the daughter of the victim, I can’t do anything to help the investigation, other than to turn over all the information to the lead investigator. I’m not happy about that, but I’ll accept it. It’s probably best that he was killed in Texas and I won’t be close to the investigators. My question is—how does this affect my case against the Martinez Brothers?”

Cory heard Agent Michaels inhale deeply. _“On the whole, I’d say it doesn’t. You have no material evidence that links Frasier to the Martinez Brothers. The word of a man on death row really doesn’t mean anything. I’d say to continue on with your investigation as normal and if something comes up, we’ll deal with it.”_

Cory managed to smile. “I can do that. I’d better let you go. I need to pack. My flight leaves at two.”

_“Have a safe trip and I really am sorry to hear about your father.”_

Cory let out a sigh of relief at Agent Michaels’ easy acceptance. She walked back to the bedroom, to find Danny sprawled out on her side of the bed. With a quiet chuckle, she began to pack.

When she was done packing, Cory sat lightly on the bed staring at Danny sleeping peacefully. She sighed softly again and leaned down to give him a small kiss.

Danny woke up at her kiss and looked at her. “Come back to bed, _bella,_ ” he murmured.

“I can’t, _chere._ I have to catch a plane to Dallas. It leaves in a couple of hours. I just wanted to let you know that I was leaving and that I’ll be back when I can.”

Danny sat up, unsurprised. “I wish I could go with you.”

Cory smiled. “I know, but this is something that I have to do on my own. I’m sorry that you never got to meet Daddy. Maybe you’ll get to meet Mom and Beth. I should go. You know how angsty the air marshals get when an agent is on the plane with them.”

Danny laughed. “Just don’t go trading war stories again. You made the last guy cry.”

Cory managed a real laugh at that. “What can I say? He was trying to say that the FBI was full of pansies. I bristled, he cried.” She saw Danny’s look. “Okay. I promise. No trading war stories. I’ll probably just stare off into space.”

Danny drew her into his arms. “It’ll be okay, sweetheart. You’ve faced worse.”

Cory drew back. “You really need to meet my mother when she’s pissed. Trust me. Facing Ortiz will look like a day in the park compared to facing my mother. My dad was always the nice one.”

Danny saw the look of pain cross her face and just pulled her back into his arms. “Let me get dressed and I’ll drive you to the airport.”

Cory nodded and let him get up.

(BREAK)

At four-thirty that afternoon, Cory walked off of the plane. As she walked towards the waiting passengers, she heard her name being called out. She turned to find Nicole standing there, waiting for her. 

Nicole walked up to her and wrapped her in a huge hug. “How ya doing, chica?”

“Hurt, depressed, pissed off. And that’s just the beginning. I honestly don’t know what to feel.”

Nicole nodded. “That’s understandable. Bright side, your house is free right now, if you want to stay there.”

Cory shook her head. “I may, but I really want to see if Mom will let me stay there. I think I need to be close to her right now. But, she might throw me out as soon as she sees me, so I might have to stay there.”

Nicole threw her a sympathetic look. “Maybe, maybe not. You won’t know until you get there.”

Cory nodded and stayed silent as she followed Nicole out of the airport. She was silent the whole trip to her parent’s house. Nicole noticed, but chose not to press her, knowing that she needed time to process everything.

When they got to her parents house in Highland Park, Cory sat in the car. “I don’t want to do this, Nic. I don’t think that I could handle it if she yelled at me right now.”

Nicole looked at Cory, concerned about her depressed tone. “Cory, honey. I know that this is hard. I know that you and your mom have differences right now, but someone has to take the first step. Be the bigger person.”

Cory turned to look at Nicole. “Yes, oh wise one. I’ll do this, but only if you’ll stay in the car for a bit. If Mom kicks me out, then I want to have a ride.”

Nicole nodded and leaned over to give her a hug. “Everything will be alright, trust me,” she whispered.

Cory returned her hug. “Thanks, chica.” Cory drew in a breath to try to get some courage. Then she opened the door and got out of the car. With trepidation in her heart, she slowly walked up the steps of the two story mansion that her parent had purchased after she and her sister had moved out. Standing at the door, she debated on whether or not to know or to simply go in. Thinking over the last time her and her mother had spoken, she rang the doorbell and waited.

The door opened and Cory’s mom, Alexis, looked at her in surprise. “Corrine. What are you doing here?”

Cory’s eyes began to fill with tears. “I’m here because of Dad.”

Alexis just looked at her. “You shouldn’t have come. You don’t belong here. It’s your fault that he died.”

“Mom! It’s not my fault. The only thing that is my fault is being damn good at my job. You can’t put this on me.”

Alexis turned her back. “I don’t want you here. Go back to New York, Corrine. I told you that when you walked out that door, you could never come back. I meant it. Harold’s death doesn’t change anything.” With those parting words, Alexis closed the door.

Cory stood there, in shock, the tears finally spilling over. Slowly, she turned around and walked towards Nicole, who had gotten out of the car. She didn’t say a word; she just walked into Nicole’s arms, sobbing.

“Oh, honey. I’m so sorry,” Nicole said as she wrapped her best friend into a hug. “Why don’t you stay at my house tonight? You can go see Beth tomorrow.”

Silently, Cory nodded. The women got into Nicole’s car to begin the drive to her house.


	18. Melancoly anfinite Sadness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I obviously do not own CSI: NY. I just own my car, my laptop and my crazy muse who seems to want to write 4 different stories at a time. I also do own any characters that you do not recognize. You can borrow them if you ask permission first! I also don’t own the name of the chapter. It belongs to the wonderful Smashing Pumpkins.

Chapter 18.

** Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness **

The next morning, when Cory woke up, she tried to put the fight out of her mind. Nicole, true to her word, had taken her back to her house after the debacle at her parent’s house. Beth had shown up and she was livid at their mother’s reaction. Cory smiled as she remembered what Beth had said. 

_“Why? Why does she have to be so mean? I know that she knows that it wasn’t your fault. It was fate. That’s it. Tomorrow we are going over there and we are going to talk to her.”_

_“But,” Cory started._

_“No buts about it. I don’t care if she doesn’t want to talk to you. You will talk, she will listen. I don’t care what you say; this is what we’re going to do.”_

_Cory looked at Beth in surprise. “Wow, sis. You’ve grown up.”_

Cory got out of bed, still smiling. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and made her way into the kitchen.

“Good morning, sleepy,” said Nicole.

“Mornin’. Kids already gone?”

Nicole smiled as put some pancakes on a plate. “Of course. They had to be at school at eight. It’s nine now.”

Cory accepted the plate with a smile. “It’s nine? Wow. I didn’t mean to sleep that long. I guess I needed it.”

“Of course you did. Beth called earlier. She said that she would pick you up at noon to go corner your mom.”

Cory nodded. “Good. That means I’ll have time to work out. It’s been so long since I’ve been able to do my morning run.”

“Why? You lived for that run.”

“One word. Danny.”

Nicole raised her eyebrows. “So are you getting a different kind of workout?”

Cory laughed. “Sometimes. But a lot of times, we’ve just gotten home after working crazy hours and it’s nice to lie in bed. I’ve become lazy in the morning.”

“Understandable. I’m going to go check some of my clients, so just put the dishes in the sink when you’re done.”

Cory nodded.

A couple of hours later, and feeling much better after her workout, Cory waited patiently for Beth to arrive. When she arrived, Cory embraced her sister in a tight hug. “I’ve missed you,” she said.

Beth smiled. “I’ve missed you, too. How’ve ya been?”

“Other than Dad’s death? Okay. I’ve been happy with Danny. He completes me.”

Beth looked into Cory’s eyes. “I can see that. You have a happier aura around you.” She drew away. “Let’s go. I’m ready to end this feud between you and Mom.”

Cory nodded and grabbed her purse to leave.

(BREAK)

When they got to their parents house, Cory walked up the steps slowly. Beth looked at her, understanding her hesitation. Drawing a steadying breath, Cory opened the door. She moved to the side, to allow Beth to precede her into the house.

Beth walked into the foyer, her heels clicking quietly on the marble floor. She led Cory to a small sitting room, their mother’s retreat from the world. Without knocking, she walked in.

“Beth? What are you doing here?” asked Alexis.

“I’m here because you need to end this feud with Cory. You two are going to sit down and talk everything out. I’ll lock you in here until you do if I have to.”

Alexis looked at her youngest daughter in disbelief. “Elizabeth, you have no right to do that.”

“ _Au contraire,_ Mother. I have every right to. This feud is not just affecting the two of you. It affects me as well.” Beth made a small motion behind her back and Cory walked into the room.

“Hello, Mother.”

Alexis pursued her lips and didn’t respond. Both Beth and Cory took the silence as a sign of encouragement and sat down in two chairs opposite of Alexis.

Cory took a breath and looked at her mother. “Mom. Please. Can we talk about why I left?”

“Nothing you can say will change my mind.”

“All I want to know is why? Why were you okay with my moving to New York until I told you that I can see spirits?”

“That is an evil power, Corrine. You would do well to heed my warning.”

Cory frowned in confusion. “Seeing ghosts isn’t evil. No power is ever evil. It’s only how you choose to use your power that determines whether or not it’s good or evil. I will not use this for evil. The reason that I have this power is to help _prevent_ great evil.”

Alexis looked at her oldest daughter, an unknown emotion swimming in her eyes. “I know that Cory, but you chose to go against my wishes.”

“Your _wishes?_ As far as I’m concerned, this is my life and I’ll live it like I choose. Why does that make you unhappy? Isn’t this what you always told me that I was supposed to do? Live my life as my own?”

“She’s right, Mom,” Beth interjected. “That is what you always told us. Why raise us to be independent and then disown as at the realization that we are?”

Alexis took a deep breath. “Because I was afraid,” she muttered quietly.

Suddenly, the air temperature dropped. Cory looked up in shock as Armando materialized behind her mom. “Armando?”

Armando nodded. “Cory, remember what I told you about your power running in families? This is the perfect time to ask the hard questions. Ask your mother about her sister.”

Cory looked stunned. “Sister? What?” Armando didn’t wait around and a glimmer of light, he vanished. She turned back to Alexis, whose face had become pale. “Mom? Did you see him?”

Alexis shook her head. “No, but I recognized the temperature drop. I guess that the Powers that Be are unhappy at my silence. So I will break it.”

Both Beth and Cory looked confused. “Mom?” Cory began. “I thought you were an only child.”

“No, I wasn’t. I had a twin sister. Her name was Catherine Corrine.” Alexis saw the lights go on in both of her daughter’s eyes. “Yes. Both of you were named after her. Corrine Danielle and Elizabeth Catherine. You see, she died when we were ten.”

“What happened,” Beth asked in hushed tones. 

“I’ll get to that. But let me tell you a story, first. CC and I were inseparable, like most twins. We were both special. And we found that with each other, our special abilities didn’t matter. CC talked to spirits. I saw the future. Your grandmother and grandfather didn’t believe us, and sought to _cure_ us of our evil possession. We went to doctor after doctor who told them that they were just childish fantasies. But as we grew older, our powers strengthened.” Alexis paused, trying to gather her courage.

“Mom?” asked Cory. “Let it out. You need to purge yourself of these horrific memories.”

Alexis nodded. “It’s hard. I’ve kept it in so long. The only other person who knew the whole story was your dad. Anyway, after about three years of “therapy” I couldn’t take it anymore. I started to pretend that I didn’t have the powers. CC supported me, knowing that I craved Mom and Dad’s approval. So I seemingly got better, but she refused. They locked her into an asylum. Within a year, she was dead. I knew the moment she had died, but I have no clue how she died.” She paused, wiping her face free of tears. “That’s haunted me for the past forty years.”

Both girls stood up and embraced their mother, trying to comfort her. Cory took the lead. “Why were you upset when I went to New York?”

“Ever since you went to New York the first time, I began having premonitions again. They all involve you and an explosion in a subway. I see you die, Cory.”

“I’ve been having the same dream, Mom. But in mine, I don’t die. I save a little girl. Look, I got some really good advice once. Every decision that we make changes the future. It’s not set in stone. Who’s to say that I will live or die? My actions alone will determine that. You can’t wrap me in cotton and prevent me from harm. If you could, then that entire thing with Ortiz would have never happened and I never would have met the love of my life.”

Cory stood back up. “Look. Why don’t I leave for a little bit, let you process everything. I’ll be in the pool if you want to talk more.” Cory got up quietly and walked out of the room.

A couple of hours later, she was lounging by the pool. She opened her eyes when she felt a shadow move across her. “Hey sis.”

Beth smiled. “Hey. You’d better cover up before you burn. You’re not used to the Texas sun anymore.”

Cory smiled. “I know, but the sun feels so good. I’ve missed it.” She sat up with a sigh and adjusted an umbrella so that it would shade her. “How’s Mom?”

Beth nodded as she slathered on sunscreen. “Morose. I’ve never seen her so down on something, but she has stopped cursing your name.”

Cory sighed. “That’s a step. I feel so bad for what’s she’s gone through. I thought my life had been rough.”

“I know what you’re talking about. It’s mind boggling.”

Cory was about to respond when she saw her mother walk out of the house. She followed her with her eyes until she had sat down in the chair opposite of her.

“Cory,” Alexis began. “I’m so sorry that I reacted the way I did. I was just so scared that you were going to die that I lost reason. Harold kept trying to tell me that.” Alexis’ eyes watered at the mention of him.

“I understand, Mom. I just need you to know that I will do everything I can to protect myself. But, if I have to die, I want to die protecting others.”

Alexis nodded. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.” Her face grew somber again. “The funeral is in two days. Can you stay?”

Cory’s eyes began to water. “For as long as you need.”

(BREAK)

Over the next two day, Alexis, Cory and Beth caught up on everything that they had missed in their lives. Cory had managed to extract a promise from her mother to come and live in New York with her until Frasier was caught.

The morning of the funeral, Cory and Beth dressed somberly in the guest room. Both women were wearing black suits. They looked at each other. “Are you ready?” asked Beth.

Cory shook her head. “No. I’m still trying to come to terms with the fact that he’s dead.”

Beth nodded. “I know what you mean.” She sighed as she picked up her purse and they made their way down the stairs.

They had just made it down the stairs when the doorbell rang. Cory went to the door and opened it to find Danny standing on the stoop.

“Danny?” she asked incredulously.

“ _Bella._ I thought that you needed me more than the crime lab today.”

In shock, Cory just stared at him. “I—I don’t believe that you’re here.”

Danny stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms. “Why would I not be? I traded a shift with Hawkes, who was more than willing. It’s important that I be here for you. I love you.”

Cory sniffed, trying to hold back her tears. “I love you, too. I just…I don’t know what to feel right now.”

Beth, who witnessed the tearful reunion, quietly left the room. She found her mom in the study. “Hey, Mom. How are you?”

Alexis looked at her youngest daughter. “Sad. Your dad and I had a great life together. I can’t believe that he’s gone.”

Beth nodded. “We feel that way to.” She smiled softly. “On the bright side—if there is one—I think that you’ll get to meet Danny. He just showed up on the doorstep telling Cory that he had to be here for her.”

Alexis raised her eyebrows. “Well. That’s informative. Maybe I should go meet the man that has managed to hook her.” Trying to distract herself from the upcoming funeral, Alexis walked into the foyer and smiled at the sight.

Cory’s shoulders were shaking in silent tears as Danny’s hand moved in comforting circles on her back. Danny’s eyes opened up at the sound of her heels clicking on the marble.

Danny bent his head and whispered in Cory’s ear, “I think it’s time to introduce me to your mother, _bella._ ”

Cory looked over her shoulder and sighed. “Mom, this is Danny Messer, my boyfriend. Danny this is my mother, Alexis Reid.”

Danny reluctantly let Cory go and walked over to her mother with his hand extended. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

Alexis smiled. “It’s very nice to meet you, too. I just wish it was under better circumstances.” Danny nodded his head as they shook hands. Alexis seemed to gather her strength and turned to the others. “It’s time to leave.”

Silently, the four made their way out of the house and prepared to go the funeral.


	19. Life goes on

Chapter 19.

** Life Goes On **

After the funeral, Nicole drove the family and Danny home. Alexis’ church had cooked enough food, so they did not have to cook. When they sat down at the table, Danny looked around.

“You have a really nice house, Mrs. Reid.”

Alexis tearfully smiled. “Call me Alexis.”

Danny smiled. “Only if you’ll call me Danny.”

Alexis smiled her first real smile of the day. “So, Danny. How did you and Cory meet?”

Danny smiled, thinking back to that fateful day. “We were working a case about a shooting. Cory was an eyewitness. She gave us valuable information. We ended up tracing the bullet back to Mala Suerte, so Flack and I went to see if we could get some information on them from the lead agent. It turns out that it was Cory.” He turned to Cory. “I really thought Flack was into you. He was so impressed that you knew the type of bullet that was fired by the sound.”

Cory laughed. “You can thank my dad for that. He always took me to the range.”

Alexis smiled, remembering Cory and Harold’s special time together. “Harold loved guns. He has—I mean had—a rather large collection of guns. Some of them from the Civil War Era.”

Danny raised his eyebrows. “Here I thought you were just exaggerating, Cory.”

“You should know by now that I would never exaggerate about something like that. Dad instilled my love of gun collecting in me.”

Danny smiled. The group kept talking, into the wee hours of the morning. 

Finally, looking at the clock, Cory yawned. “I have got to go to bed. I’m exhausted.” She turned to Danny. “Why don’t you stay here tonight? That way, you don’t have to drive around in a strange city.”

Danny nodded, but was unsure about what Alexis would think. He looked at her with trepidation.

Alexis saw his look and smiled. “It’s okay with me. You can sleep in Cory’s room with her.”

Danny nodded. “Thank you.” He stood up and put his arm around Cory as she led him to her room.

(BREAK)

The next couple of days passed in a haze for Cory. Danny was great, he kept her occupied during the day, and her mother loved him, but she was still a little uneasy. Thursday night, she lay in the bed, Danny fast asleep beside her, unable to sleep. Finally, sighing in frustration, she quietly got out of bed and went down to the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, she began to make a hot toddy. Once the milk was hot, she walked into the bar area and pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels. Gingerly, she poured a shot of the whiskey into the milk.

She was sitting at the table, when the temperature dropped dramatically. She looked up, expecting to see Armando, and almost dropped her mug. 

“Mom?”

The ghost smiled. “No, dear. I’m your Aunt CC.”

Cory sat there in shock. “But, you died when you were ten. Why do you look like a grown up?”

CC smiled. “I can choose my appearance. I thought it would be better to appear to you as I would have, if I had survived.”

Cory nodded, not quite following the logic. “So, why are you here?”

“For a couple of reasons. One, you need to tell Alexis that it wasn’t her fault that I died.”

“I knew that she was blaming herself. But she wouldn’t listen to me.”

CC nodded. “Exactly. She needs to know the reason that I died, since our parents didn’t share that fact with her.”

Cory looked at her in confusion. “What do you mean?”

CC sighed. “I’m assuming that Alexis told you about our powers?” At Cory nod affirmative, she continued, “Mother and Father decided to have me committed for demonic possession. I was in the institution for almost a year. I endured a multitude of different treatments.”

Cory felt a surge of sadness that almost overwhelmed her. “I’m so sorry. Was it the treatments that killed you?”

CC smiled, sadly. “No. I died because of an embolism. I had a blood clot in my brain for several years before I went in. It was undiagnosed.”

Cory shook her head. “Grandma and Grandpa never said anything to her, did they?”

“No. So I need you to tell her what actually happened.”

Cory nodded. “I can do that. You said there was more?”

CC smiled. “Yes. Go talk to the FBI. You’ve been moping around for a couple of days, letting things flounder in the wind. Give them the info about Frasier. Let them decide on how to use is. Then get yourself and Alexis back to New York. Life goes on, Cory. You must show your mother that.”

Cory nodded. “I’ve known that I’ve had to do that, but I didn’t want to push mother out of her comfort zone.” She stood up. “Thanks for the talk, Aunt CC.”

CC smiled a genuine smile as she began to fade out. “Not a problem, my dear.”

Cory put the mug in the sink and went back to bed.

(BREAK)

The next day, when Cory woke up, the first thing she did was tell her mother about CC’s visit.

Alexis sat in her chair, dumbfounded at the information. “That is such a relief. I was so terrified that I caused her death by presuming to become ‘normal’ while she chose to stay true to herself. I was sure that the treatments had killed her.” Alexis wiped her eyes. “Thank you for telling me this.”

“You’re welcome.” Cory stood up. “Look, I’m going to go visit Agent Henderson and give him all the info I have on Frasier. The more people we have looking for this murderer the better.”

Alexis nodded. “I agree. When do you need to go back to New York?”

Cory sighed. “Tomorrow or Sunday. I really can’t afford to take any more time off. Danny needs to get back, too.”

“I understand. I’ll start packing then. It’s going to be hard to leave this house.”

Cory felt a little sorrow rise in her chest. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t take a chance on losing you, too.”

Alexis smiled softly. “I understand why you made the request, Cory. That’s why I accepted.”

Cory nodded and left to go get ready to visit her old boss. When we walked into her room, Danny was just waking up. “Good morning, _chere_. I’m going to visit the FBI office today. I need to give them the info on Frasier.”

Danny opened his eyes and looked at the clock. “It’s only eight a.m. and you’re already dressed? What’s wrong with this picture?”

Cory laughed. “What can I say? When I’m here, I tend to get up early. Mom’s an early bird. I got up early to tell her a conversation I had with my aunt last night. She wanted Mom to know that it wasn’t her fault that she died.”

Danny looked at Cory. “Are you okay?”

Cory smiled. “I’m fine. It was a little weird to be speaking to a ghost that looks exactly like my mother, but I’m dealing. Listen, Mom is making pancakes. Why don’t you go eat breakfast? We need to go back home, soon.”  
  


Danny nodded and reluctantly got out of bed as she left for the office.

(BREAK)

When Cory walked into the Dallas office, she felt a pang of homesickness for the people she had worked with for seven years. As she walked by the various desks, she said hello to her friends and noticed the new faces.

Soon she was at Agent Henderson’s office. She knocked on the door and entered when he called out.

Agent Henderson looked up in surprise. “Cory? Why are you here?”

Cory smiled. “I know you can’t give any details about the case, but I wanted to give you all the info that I have on Antoine Frasier.”

Agent Henderson sighed. “I already got the information from Agent Michaels; however, we are not handling the case. There is no evidence that will connect Frasier to your father’s death. We had to hand the case back to local police.”

Cory sat down in her shock. “There is no evidence to connect him? What about what Ortiz told me? It’s well known that Frasier goes for family and friends first, before actually assassinating the person he was contracted for!”

Agent Henderson winced at the sharp tone Cory had used. “I’m sorry, Cory. The word of a death row inmate doesn’t inspire confidence. My hands are tied.”

Cory stood up in her fury. “Fine. Whatever. I—I just can’t deal with this. Bye.” She turned on her heel and stormed out of the office trying to calm herself down. Muttering under her breath, she got into her car and started to drive back to her mother’s house.


	20. Connections

Chapter 20.

** Connections **

When Cory, Danny and Alexis stepped off the plane at JFK, all three immediately turned on their cell phones. Cory was astounded to find that she had four voicemails. Quickly she called in and became concerned when all four messages were from Lydia, begging her to call her.

Danny looked at his and was relieved to find that he didn’t have any messages. He turned to say as much to Cory, only to find her calling a number with a worried expression on her face. “ _Bella?_ Is everything okay?”

Cory just held up her hand as Lydia answered the phone. “Lydia, it’s Cory.”

_“Why the hell haven’t you been answering the phone?”_

Cory rolled her eyes. “I just got off a plane, Lyd. You know that you can’t have cell phones on in flight.”

_“Oh. Anyway. I have good news, good news and bad news. What do you want first?”_

Cory sighed. “I’ll take the bad news first.”

_“Javier Martinez is dead.”_

Cory furrowed her brow. “Dead? How?”

_“Execution. NYPD found him in the East River this morning. Detective Flack is working the case.”_

“Okay. What’s the good news?”

Lydia laughed. _“We have Gabriel Martinez in custody and he’s willing to roll over on Javier Montoya.”_

Cory’s eyes widened in her surprise. “You’re joking. Right?”

_“Nope. Now, are you going to get your Texan butt here so you can interrogate him or what?”_

Cory shook her head. “Of course! I’ll be there as soon as New York Traffic will allow! I’ll see in you in a bit. Bye!” Cory quickly hung up the phone and turned to Danny and Alexis who were waiting patiently. “Mom, Danny, I hate to do this to you, but I’ve got to go into work. Danny, can you take Mom to our apartment?”

Danny nodded his head. “Sure.”

Alexis looked at her daughter. “Good news, dear?”

Cory smiled. “Yeah. I think I just got a break in my case.” She turned to Danny. “If you’ll drop me off, I’ll have Lydia drive me home when I’m done.”

Danny nodded, understanding her obsession. 

(BREAK)

Cory strode into FBI headquarters feeling excited. She quickly made her way to her office, thanking the powers that be the entire way that she had dressed up on the flight back. As soon as she put her purse away, she walked into the Lydia’s office.

Lydia, who was on the phone, held up her hand to motion to Cory that she would be right with her. “Okay. Thanks, Detective. If I get any information from Gabriel, I’ll let you know.”

Cory sat, waiting patiently for Lydia to finish her call. When Lydia finally hung up the phone, Cory raised her eyebrows. “Well?”

Lydia smiled. “Well, what?”

Cory rolled her eyes. “How did you catch him?”

Lydia sighed. “Believe it or not, he turned himself in.”

“What?”

Lydia nodded. “Yeah. I was a shocked as you are. It all happened so fast. NYPD got a call about a floater and when they got there, Gabriel was standing there. He said that he was wanted for drug trafficking and wanted to turn himself into the FBI.”

Cory shook her head. “Um…um…Wow. I’m stunned.”

“Yeah. So, anyway, Detective Flack arrested him, after running his prints and pretty much delivered him to me gift wrapped.” Lydia shook her head again. “So, I tried to interrogate him when he got here, but he’s only willing to talk to you. Thus my panicked calls.”

Cory grunted softly. “Well. What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

Together, the two women walked into an interrogation room, to find the criminal sitting there, calmly.

“Mr. Martinez,” Cory began. “I’m Special Agent Corrine Reid. I hear that you wanted to talk to me?”

The Hispanic man nodded his head. “Yes.”

Cory looked at him. “Why me?”

“Carlos always said that you were good at your job. I would like your help.”

Cory decided to proceed cautiously. “With what?”

“Bringing my brother’s killer to justice.”

“What will you give me in return?” she queried.

“Information.”

Cory thought for a moment. “What kind of information? I do warn you, if the information is not useful, then you will not get any help from the FBI.”

He nodded and settled back in his chair. “That is fair. What would you like to know?”

“Why don’t you began telling my about Javier Montoya and why there is a contract out on my life?”

“You are a threat. It’s a simple as that.”

Cory’s brow furrowed. “A threat to what? The drug trade?”

Gabriel sighed. “Yes and no. What do you know about Montoya?”

Cory shook her head. “Not much.”

“He is the manager of the largest drug cartel to come out of Columbia in the last twenty years. He is also…” he trailed off, searching for the correct words. “He is also insane. After September 11, he jumped on the hating America bandwagon. It makes no sense to me.”

“Why?”

“America is his largest ‘customer’. That’s where he makes his most money. Still, I’ve heard rumors that he is helping to finance a branch of Al Queda.”

Cory grew serious at that threat. “How?”

Gabriel shrugged his shoulders. “Mostly money, but he was the one supplying Mala Suerte with their weapons. I’m sure that he is helping there also.”

Cory nodded. “Alright. So far you’ve given me a good story, but how do I know that it’s not a load of horse manure?”

“There are some warehouses, down on the docks, that he uses to store the guns. I’ll give you the location.”

Cory handed him a piece of paper and a pen so he could write down the locations. “Write down the locations of the warehouses.” She decided to change topics. “Who killed your brother?”

Gabriel grew more somber. “Montoya,” he whispered.

“Why?” Cory asked, her tone gentle.

“We wanted out,” he said simply.

Cory nodded in understanding. She thought for a moment. “Okay. Here’s what I can offer you for now, until this information is verified. I can get you into protective custody, pending your trial for drug trafficking. That’s the most I can do.”

Gabriel nodded. “That’s…not what I hoped for, but I’ll accept it.”

Cory stood up and nodded to the agent standing guard. “Take him back to his cell. I want him on isolation, no visitors whatsoever. High priority.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the agent said while leading Gabriel out of the room.

Cory picked up the notepad and glanced at the locations. She was contemplating how best to raid the warehouses, when Lydia walked back in. 

“Good work,” she said.

Cory glanced up. “Thanks. I think we’re going to need help to raid all of these. I’m thinking NYPD and Homeland Security. There are three different warehouses, so each of us can take one? Sound good?”

Lydia nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Why don’t I contact Homeland Security, while you contact NYPD?”

Cory nodded and stood. “I guess I’ll go back to my office then.”

Cory began to make plans while she walked. As soon as she got to her office, she picked up her phone and dialed a number.

_“Flack.”_

“Hey, Flack. It’s Cory.”

_“Hey. What’s going on? Have you and Danny landed yet?”_

Cory laughed. “A couple of hours ago. I’m calling because I need a favor.”

_“What’s it going to cost me? The last time you asked me to do a favor for you, I lost a hundred bucks.”_

Cory rolled her eyes. “A professional favor, Don.”

_“Oh. What’s going on?”_

“You know the guy you pulled from the river?” At Flack’s acknowledgement she continued, “He was killed by Javier Montoya. Major player in the drug cartel. I got some info on some warehouses that he owns which he is using to house weapons. We need to raid them, but I don’t have enough manpower. I’m thinking we need a coordinated strike and take them all out at the same time.”

Flack thought about it for a moment. _“I think that it possible. How many warehouses and where are they?”_

“There are three. They’re on the docks. I figure FBI takes one, NYPD the second and Homeland Security the third.”

_“Why Homeland Security?”_ Flack growled, his distaste for the organization apparent in his voice.

Cory sighed, not surprised at his reaction. “Because national security is at stake, Flack. I know you don’t like them, but I have to bring them in on it.”

_“Fine. I’ll get together a task force. Anything else?”_

Cory was taken aback by the abruptness in his tone. She decided to let it slide. “Yeah, actually I do have a request, personal this time.” She paused. “We need to have a movie night. My mom is in town now and I think that this is the best way to introduce her to everyone. Do you know if everyone has the same night off anytime soon?”

Flack thought for a moment. _“I think everyone is off Tuesday.”_

Cory smiled. “Good. Tell everyone to meet at my place at six. Mom and I will cook, then we’ll watch movies.”

Flack laughed. _“It’s a date!”_


	21. The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 21.

** The Calm before the Storm **

When Tuesday rolled around, Cory and her mom has locked themselves in the kitchen. Cory had taken the previous two days to get completely caught up at work. She was also trying work out the schematics of coordinating three different agencies for a raid.

Cory turned around, to grab the fruit out of the refrigerator and almost ran into her mom. “Sorry, Mom!”

Alexis laughed. “Cory, it’s fine. Just slow down. We’ve still got an hour until everyone gets here.”

Cory laughed with her. “I know, it’s just that I’ve never made a true Texas meal for everyone before. The closest I’ve come was making enchiladas. I’m so glad that you started the mashed potatoes. With how late I was getting home, it would have never been ready.”

Alexis smiled. “My pleasure. It’s nice to cook a big meal again.” Alexis turned, taking the boiling potatoes off the stove. She quickly drained them and put them into a large bowl to which she added salt, pepper, butter and milk.

Once the potatoes were finished, Alexis put them in the oven to keep them warm. Then she took a glance around the kitchen. “Okay, everything is ready to cook the steak. The potatoes are done, green beans cooking.” She turned to look at Cory who was preparing the salad, while the biscuit dough settled. “I guess I’ll start the biscuits.”

Cory shook her head in agreement while she chopped up the vegetables. She had just started mincing the onions when she heard the front door open. “Crap. Danny! Is that you?” she yelled.

“Yeah!” came the answering yell from the living room.

“Good. Can you make sure that the apartment is presentable for our guests?”

Danny walked into the kitchen, sniffing the air appreciatively. “Definitely. Damn. It smells so good in here.” He stopped when Cory turned around, brandishing her knife playfully. 

“Out! You’re not allowed in here tonight. We are cooking a good Texas meal,” Cory said with a wink.

Danny held up his hands. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll just go make sure the living room is clean.” He quickly reversed his direction, chuckling to himself.

Thirty minutes later, all of the preparations for dinner were finished, so Alexis and Cory each poured a glass of wine and went to sit in the living room.

“So,” Alexis began. “How many people are going to be here?”

Cory smirked while she quickly counted in her head. “Including us, nine total.” She smiled. “I’m glad that you’re going to get to meet everyone.”

Alexis smiled and nodded along with her. She was just about to say something else, when the buzzer sounded.

Cory got up and went over. “Yes?” she asked.

_“It’s Stella and Mac.”_

“Come on up,” Cory said as she buzzed them in.

Soon, the rest of the group was there. Alexis and Cory excused themselves to finish cooking dinner. All that was left was cooking the chicken fried steak and the gravy, which had to be made after the steak was done.

Cory walked out of the kitchen, to announce that dinner was ready and walked straight into a pool game between Danny and Lindsay. She looked at Lindsay. “Who’s winning?” she asked.

Lindsay smirked. “I’m up by two balls.” 

Cory smiled, knowing that Danny hated to lose and that he usually beat Lindsay. She settled against the wall to watch Danny shoot. He managed to even up the game before missing his shot on the last stripe ball.

Lindsay smirked again as she realized that he had set her up perfectly to clear the table. Quickly, she bent over and shot her last solid ball in. She made it, barely, and as a result the cue ball was a little off from the position she wanted.

Danny, glancing at the table, took his chance to smirk. “Hey, Montana. You make that shot, I’ll dumpster dive for the next week.”

Lindsay raised her eyebrows, up to the challenge. “Why don’t we sweeten it a little bit? You call the pocket and if I miss, I’ll dumpster dive for the next month.”

Danny’s eyes lit up in anticipation. “Awight. Eight ball, opposite corner pocket.”

Cory looked stunned. She studied the layout of the table, the eight ball was resting a couple of inches from the rail at the top of the table. The pocket that Danny had pointed to was at the bottom, on the opposite side. She knew that it was an impossible shot.

Lindsay nodded her head and studied the table. Flack moved to give her some advice, but she waved him off. 

Alexis moved to Cory’s side, after she overheard the bet. “Can she make it?” she whispered.

Cory exhaled. “I don’t know. It’s pretty much an impossible shot. I don’t know if _I_ could make the shot.”

Alexis nodded and became silent as Lindsay leaned to make the shot.

Lindsay leaned over, steadied her hands and gustily hit the cue ball. All nine people watched as the cue ball banked off of two rails to hit the eight. Their eyes followed the path of the eight as it rolled down the table and into the pocket. Lindsay turned to Danny, a gleam in her eyes. “Everyone here heard it. You’re dumpster diving for the next month, Messer.”

Danny just stood there, his mouth hanging open. “Um…How?” He stopped talking, unable to form any words.

Cory watched him and began to laugh. “Danny? You should know better than to challenge her to a near impossible shot. She’s made every one that you’ve ever challenged her, too.” Danny just shook his head. “Anyway, dinner is ready.”

The group nodded and while Danny and Lindsay put up their cues, they walked into the dining room.

Hawkes looked in amazement at the feast set upon the table. “Cook enough food, Cory?” he asked.

Cory smiled. “We wanted to give you the perfect Texas meal. You have chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, biscuits, cream gravy and for dessert, homemade apple pie.”

Lydia and Stella looked at each other. “There goes the diet,” they said in unison.

Cory laughed. “Why do you think I don’t cook like this very often? I’d be as big as a house!”

All of the women laughed at her sally. They all sat down at the table and began to fill there plates.

An hour later, all of them were feeling extremely full. “Gawd,” Flack uttered. “I don’t think I can eat another bite.”

Mac nodded in agreement. “That was very good. My congratulations to both of the chefs.”

Cory and Alexis smiled at each other. Alexis looked at the guys around the table. “Okay, guys. We cooked, y’all can clean.”

All the men nodded, knowing this was the routine from the couple of times that Cory had cooked for everyone.

While the men were in the kitchen, which wasn’t very dirty, all the women went into the living room, to prepare for the movie. Alexis looked at Stella. “Stella, right?” Stella nodded. “I absolutely love your boots. Where did you get them?”

Stella smiled. “Barney’s, at a sale.”

This comment started a lively discussion on clothes, shoes and where the best day spa was. The discussion continued until the men came back from the kitchen. 

Cory nodded, once they came in, and settled on the floor in front of the TV. Danny settled beside her, while the rest of the group chose their own seats. Once everyone was seated, she hit play on the DVD player and watched the credits for _The Forty-Year Old Virgin_ begin.

\--------------------

A couple of hours later, the movie was over and everyone was making their way home. Cory looked at her mother, who looked more relaxed than she had seen here in a while. “Did you like everyone?”

Alexis nodded, stifling a yawn with her hand. “Everyone was so nice. Thank you.” She yawned again. “Okay. I’m going to retire now. Y’all have a good night.”

Cory quickly gave her mom a good-night hug before settling back on the couch next to Danny. She smiled at him. “Did you have fun tonight?”

Danny smiled down at her as he put his arm around here. “I did. But more importantly, are you less stressed now?”

Cory sighed as she leaned into him. “Yeah, I am. This was good for us.” She turned her head up and captured his lips with hers. “No more talking,” she murmured as she drew him off the couch and towards the bedroom.


	22. The Raid

Chapter 22.

** The Raid **

Over the following week, Cory worked hard trying to coordinate the joint raids. Finally, she decided that it was time to meet with everyone together. She made a call to Homeland Security to speak to Ellen Fielding, the agent in charge of their raid as well as to Flack. They set the meeting for Friday, late in the afternoon. Cory suggested that they have the meeting at FBI headquarters and to bring all the officers that they wanted involved in the raid that they wanted. The way she figured it, the more minds the better.

Cory sat down at the conference table, awaiting the arrival of everyone. She was surprised when Danny walked in with Flack and Mac. “Danny? What are you doing here?”

Danny shrugged. “I figured that if I was going to be part of the raid, then I wanted to help plan it.”

Cory furrowed her brow. “But you’re a criminalist. You’re not involved in raids! You handle the aftermath!”

Danny didn’t like her response since it mirrored exactly what Mac had said. “Cory, I was a cop before becoming a criminalist. I’m doing this.”

Cory just sighed as Agent Fielding walked in. All together, there were fourteen people in the room. As everyone got settled in, Cory stood. “Alright, y’all. For those of you who don’t know me, I am Special Agent Corrine Reid. Please, call me Cory. I’m the one that has been handling to Martinez Brothers case. We are here due to the fact that Gabriel Martinez has decided to flip on his supplier, Javier Montoya. He has given us the location of three warehouses that Montoya is running guns out of.”

The group nodded as she handed out the sheets with the warehouse information. “Each group is going to take one warehouse. I have listed the assignments down. I called his meeting to try to set up a group operation. I want each of these hit at the same exact time. That way, Montoya doesn’t have a chance at co-opting any of these. Any questions?”

Agent Fielding raised her hand. “What type of weapons do you expect to find?”

Cory shrugged her shoulders. “Honestly, I have no clue. The way that I am preparing my team is to hope for the best and plan for the worst.”

Flack raised his hand. “When do you want us to be ready?”

“As soon as possible. Montoya must know by now that we have Gabriel in custody.”

The group discussion continued for a few minutes. It was decided that the raid would take place Sunday morning at six.

Cory smiled as everyone filed out, pleased that they were able to cooperate. Her smile faded as Danny lingered behind. “Yes?”

Danny looked at her. “Why are you mad at me?”

Cory thought for a second and chose her words very carefully. “Danny, I’m not mad at you, per se. It’s just…you’re not in the field as a cop anymore. It’s not your job. Why are you so eager to put yourself in harms way?”

Danny looked at her. “I just have to do this.”

Cory just shook her head. “Go back to the lab, Dan. I’ll talk to you tonight.”

Danny left and Cory stood to look out the window. She didn’t hear Lydia come up behind her.

“Cory?”

Cory turned. “Yeah.”

“You okay?”

Cory shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m not happy with Danny insisting on being part of the raid. It’s a distraction that I don’t need. He can’t even tell me why it’s so important to him to be part of it.”

Lydia smiled. “I’m no professional, but I think he feels the need to prove something to you.”

Cory looked confused. “Huh?”

Lydia laughed. “Let me put it this way. You go out on raids all the time. You are catching the bad guys. Maybe he feels like he doesn’t do enough.”

“But,” Cory objected, “He does! He is responsible for keeping the jerks behind bars.”

Lydia raised her eyebrows. “I know that, you know that. He knows that somewhere deep down, but it seems to me like his pride is on the line here. If I were you, I wouldn’t worry about it. He’ll be with the NYPD team, so he’s not your problem.”

Cory just sighed. “You’re right. I won’t try to get him to change his mind. But if he gets shot, I may kill him.”

(BREAK)

When Cory got home about nine o’clock that night, Danny was waiting for her. He looked ready to fight for his right to stay on the raid. Cory took one look at him and held up her hand. “Don’t start. I have no right to tell you what you can and can’t do, but I’m not happy with you insisting on putting yourself in danger. I would expect you to show a little more sensitivity to my feelings after just losing my dad.”

Danny sighed. “Look, Cory. I’m not doing this to prove anything. I just have a gut feeling that I have to be there. Please understand.”

Cory just shrugged. “Do what you need to do, Dan. I’m going to bed.” With that statement, she turned abruptly and walked into the bedroom.

Danny sat down on the couch, trying to control his emotions. _Damn it! Why does she have to be so difficult? I’m expected to accept every one of her “gut feelings”. Why can’t see do the same thing for me? Gawd…She can be so damn stubborn!_ Danny nearly growled in his frustration. Trying to calm himself, he began to flip through the stations on cable. Soon, he had fallen asleep.

(BREAK)

Sunday morning, Cory and Danny awoke at three a.m. They had spent Saturday staying mainly out of each other’s way. Silently, they both got ready. Cory wearing a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans with running shoes, Danny wearing jeans and an NYPD T-shirt. 

When they were both dressed, Cory looked at Danny. “We should go,” she said quietly. He only responded with a nod as they both grabbed their guns. 

The ride was quiet, with only the morning radio for company, during the drive to the staging area. Cory looked out of the window, contemplating everything that had happened over the previous couple of months. She acknowledged to herself that she was still a little upset with Danny, but she knew that she had overreacted. She just couldn’t bring herself to apologize.

When they arrived, Flack and Mac were already there. Cory walked over to them to begin the final plans, while she put her gear on. In light of what had happened to Liz at the last raid, she was requiring that all people participating in the raid had to wear full SWAT gear. She was going an extra step. In addition to the Kevlar vest and her standard firearm, she also strapped two additional 9mm Glocks and loaded up a rifle. When everyone had finally arrived, she was surprised to see Hawkes there, carrying a doctor’s case.

“Hawkes?” she questioned. “What are you doing here?”

Hawkes nodded to her. “I thought it would be useful to have a doctor on site in case anyone is wounded.”

Cory smiled, for the first time in two days. “Brilliant idea. I don’t know why I didn’t think about it!”

Hawkes just smiled as he set up a work area. 

Glancing at her watch, she realized that it was time for the plan to go into action. She quickly called a final meeting between her, Lydia, Flack, Mac, Agent Fielding and her second in command, Agent Harvey. “Okay, y’all. It’s go time. Have you made sure that we are all on the same frequency?” At the nods, she continued, “Okay. I’ll count it down once everyone is in place. The FBI is team one, NYPD is team two and Homeland Security is team three. Let’s lock and load.”

The group of cops and agents quickly dispersed. Within minutes, everyone was ready.

_“Team two, ready.”_

_“Team three, ready.”_

Cory drew a breath. “Okay, Team One is ready. On the count of three, let’s break ‘em down, boys. One, two, three!”

Jointly, all three forces burst into their respective warehouses. Cory and Lydia took point for the FBI.

“FBI!” Cory yelled. Inside of her location, five men jumped up at her yell. They quickly drew their guns and a full firefight began. Her agents quickly jumped behind cover as they tried to stave off the men.

Within minutes, it was over. Three of the gun runners were dead, the other two, lying on the floor after discarding their weapons. Over the radio, she heard similar sounds of victory from the other two teams.

Looking around the warehouse, she began to open up the crates. “I’ve got a case of AK’s here. Looks like a lot of assault rifles and loads of side arms,” she called out to the rest of her team.

_“Team three checking in. We have captured three terrorists. Proceeding to inventory the weapons now,”_ Agent Fielding’s voice called over the radio.

_“Team two as well. We captured six terrorists and have begun our inventory as well,”_ said Flack.

“Team one, copies that. We have three casualties, all terrorists and have found crates of assault rifles so far,” Cory responded.

Six hours later, the different groups had reconvened at the staging area. The multitude of weapons were on their way back to the respective groups secure weapons area, to be tagged for destruction once the case was closed.

Cory nodded to everyone, tiredly. “Great job today, y’all. This is one of the biggest weapons busts in history. Let’s head back, do our paperwork and then go home, to enjoy what’s left of the weekend.”

The group nodded and dispersed.

Several hours later, Cory looked up as Lydia, Flack, Danny, Mac and Hawkes walked into her office. She smiled softly. “Thank you for the help today,” she said.

They nodded. Mac smiled at her. “It was good. You run a tight ship.”

Cory laughed. “After what happened with Travis? You bet I do!” She quickly shut down her computer and grabbed her purse. They had all decided to go out to Ray’s after the raid, to unwind. “Let’s go.”

The group walked out of headquarters, with Cory and Danny lagging behind a bit.

“Cory?” Danny began hesitantly. “We okay?”

Cory squinted as the bright sunlight momentarily blinded her. “Danny…” she began. She turned slightly, to look him in the eyes. As she made the turn, a shot rang out.

The team reacted instantly; all drawing their guns. Cory looked at Danny, seeing a look of horror on his face. “What…” she trailed off as a wave of pain assaulted her. She looked down to see her white shirt turning bright red with her blood as it gushed out of her.

Danny caught Cory as she fell to the ground. “CORY!” he screamed in panic. “NO!”

The rest of the group turned around at the desperation in his voice. Flack looked back up, searching for the sniper. Getting lucky, he saw a gleam of light from a building that was being remodeled across the road. He looked at Mac and they both took off at a dead run.

Lydia, in the meantime, had run back into the building, screaming for help that an agent was down. Hawkes ran to Danny’s side and quickly opened his bag.

“Danny,” he said urgently. Danny ignored him. “Danny! Get it together. Take off your shirt. I need it to make a compression bandage.” 

Danny seemed to break out of his trance. Quickly, he stripped off his shirt and handing it Hawkes, who place it over the gut wound. “Hold it there,” he instructed. Danny did as he was told.

“Cory? _Bella?_ Please say something,” he begged as Cory’s eyes fluttered.

Hawkes ignored the commotion around him that increased as enraged FBI agents swarmed out of the building. The followed the path of Flack and Mac. Hawkes took out his cell phone and quickly dialed 911. “This is Dr. Sheldon Hawkes. I need a bus in front of the FBI Headquarters. Officer down. Also, please alert Queen of Mercy Hospital to prepare for emergency surgery.”

Danny stopped listening to Hawkes as he continued to detail Cory’s condition to the operator. He kept pressure on the wound, disturbed that his shirt was already bright red. Tears shining in his eyes, he leaned over as Cory opened her eyes. “ _Bella?”_

“ _Chere,_ ” Cory rasped. “I’m sorry I was such a bitch.” She closed her eyes again as another wave of pain threatened to overwhelm her. She felt a wave of dizziness take over her as her vision faded. “ _Ti amo,”_ she whispered as blackness descended.


	23. Shock

Chapter 23.

** Shock **

Flack reacted instantly when he heard the shot. It wasn’t until he heard Danny’s anguished scream that he realized that Cory had been hit. The cop in him came to the forefront as he scanned for the sniper. He caught a break when a shaft of light bounced off a rifle. He shot a look at Mac and realized he had seen it as well.

Both took off at a dead run, weaving through the traffic with ease. They bounded into the building and began to run up the stairs. As they got closer to the floor that they had seen the sniper on, both slowed down and raised their weapons. From across the street, they could hear angry yells as FBI agents swarmed out of the building and the ever present sound of a siren. Both hoped silently that it was the ambulance coming for Cory.

Quietly, they entered the floor, thankful that this was the only stairwell that was open. They used standard entry procedures; Flack going in high, Mac going in low. Using hand signals, they coordinated their attack.

They saw a man running from the windows and Flack reacted first. He took off after him, muttering under his breath, “Why do they always run?”

The sniper was no match for his long legs and he slowly gained on him. Taking a risk, Flack launched himself at the man, bringing him down in a flying tackle that rivaled an NFL linebacker.

Grunting as he brought the man down, he quickly had him in cuffs, as Mac held his gun trained on him. “You’re under arrest,” he began as he quickly read the man his Miranda rights. Hearing a commotion coming from the stairs, he smiled grimly as a multitude of FBI agents stormed onto the floor.

(BREAK)

Cory was jarred back into semi-awareness when the ambulance hit a particularly big pothole in the road. She groaned in pain.

“Cory?” She heard Hawkes call her name and tried to respond, but was not able to. She felt dizziness embrace her again.

“Damn it!” Hawkes yelled as the monitors began it beep in earnest. “We’re losing her.” Hawkes grabbed the crash cart and lubed up the paddles as she went into cardiac arrest. A paramedic ripped her shirt down the center and placed the adhesive patches on her chest. Hawkes placed the paddles on her chest. “Clear!” he yelled. 

Cory’s body arched as the electric current flowed through her body. Her heart resumed its normal rhythm, much to Hawkes’ relief. The paramedics quickly began to work on her again.

Hawkes watched her for signs of heart failure again. Just as they were pulling up to the hospital, with Danny and Lydia screeching to a halt behind them, her heart stopped again.

The paramedics threw open the doors, as Hawkes climbed on the stretcher to administer CPR.

(BREAK)

Danny vaguely admired Lydia’s driving as she deftly wove in and out of traffic with the siren blaring. She kept up with the ambulance while Danny prayed to every God he could think of to let Cory live.

As Lydia slid to a stop behind the ambulance, Danny’s heart froze when he saw Hawkes on the stretcher administering CPR. “God, no…Please. She can’t die,” he whispered brokenly.

His grief overwhelmed him as he leapt from SUV to chase after the group. He ran into the ER, in a panic as the stretcher moved forward at a hurried pace. He was stopped by the swinging doors by a nurse.

“Let me through! Let me through!” he screamed in panic. “I have to be with her!”

The nurse watched him carefully, knowing from the incoming reports that he was a cop. “Sir, I’m sorry. You can’t go in there. Please, let me direct you to a waiting room.”

Danny continued to fight until Lydia put a hand on his arm. “Danny,” she said softly. “Please. Let them do their job. You’ll be of no use if they throw you out of the hospital.”

Her calm words, with an underlying tone of panic, penetrated his anguish. He gave up his fight and allowed himself to be led to a waiting room.

(BREAK)

Cory saw a bright light in front of her. She squinted into the light, which did not hurt her eyes and saw a group of people. Realization dawned on her when she began to recognize the figures. It was her dad, James, Michael and her Aunt CC.

“Well, hell,” she said, realizing that either she was dead or she wasn’t far from it. James walked up to her. 

“Hey, sweetheart. I never knew that I would be seeing you this soon,” he said, a pearly tear running down his cheek.

“James,” she whispered. “Am I dead?”

He shook his head. “No, not yet. I won’t lie to you. It’s touch and go. No one knows if you will live.”

Cory shook her head in sorrow. “James, as much as I love you, I love Danny just as much. This would destroy him.”

James wrapped his arms around her. “I know sweetheart. You have to know that you have many people pulling for you to win.” He glanced up as Maddy, Aiden and Armando showed up. He looked at Maddy. “Can she go down?”

Maddy looked speculative. “It’s not exactly against the rules, but she’ll have to be careful. Taylor’s on her way to the hospital and if she sees her, Taylor will probably freak out.”

Cory nodded her understanding and suddenly she was standing in an operating room. She looked at all the machines hooked up on her body and shuddered in response. She looked around when she heard Hawkes’ voice and realized that he was one of the surgeons. 

“There’s massive hemorrhaging in her abdomen. The bullet penetrated both her small intestine and her colon. I think it might have also ricocheted off of her spine to its final resting place of her uterus,” another surgeon said. “Okay, people. Let’s stop the bleeding first. Then we’ll begin the delicate procedure of extracting the bullet.”

The group of surgeons bent over the table and began the task of sewing up the severed blood vessels. Minutes into the procedure, Cory watched as the heart monitor began to beep in earnest. 

“Damn it!” she heard Hawkes exclaim. “She’s crashing again. Damn you, Cory. Do not die on me! I won’t be able to face Danny if you do.”

She watched in interest as the doctors began a frantic activity to get her heart to start again.

(BREAK)

In the waiting room, a mass of people had gathered. Danny was sitting in a chair, his head in his hands as he wept openly. Alexis was sitting next to him, a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Stella was wrapped in Mac’s arms while Flack was performing the same service for Lindsay. Lydia paced nervously, trying to work out her nerves, every once in a while glancing at the clock, which seemed to be moving at a crawl.

Suddenly, Taylor showed up in the room. “Any news?”

Mac shook his head. “She’s been in surgery for five hours. No news yet.”

Taylor sighed as she sat next to Danny. “Hey, Messer. If it’s any consolation, I haven’t seen her ghost.”

Danny looked up, a bleak expression on his face. “Thanks, Taylor,” he said in a monotone.

Taylor looked at him in shock at his use of her first name.

\---------------------------------

Back in the operating room, Cory watched as the doctors stabilized her. Finally, with the bleeding under control, they were confident that she wasn’t in any further danger of going into cardiac arrest again.

Hawkes took the lead in trying to extract the bullet. “Shit,” he muttered. “A fragment hit one of her ovaries. We’re going to have to remove it.”

One of the other doctors nodded. “That’s the least of our worries. My concern is that the bullet did ricochet off her spine. There is a possibility that she will never walk again.”

Hawkes shook his head. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Let’s just keep her alive right now.”

Cory sighed, then willed herself back into Limbo. She smiled at James when he held his arms out to him. 

He held her in his comforting arms then murmured, “You know you don’t have to go back. You have a choice.”

Cory raised her eyebrow. “You mean I can just give up, don’t you?”

James nodded. “Think about it, Cor. You saw the surgery. You lost an ovary and they don’t know whether or not you’ll be paralyzed if you wake up. Do you want to go back to that?”

Cory closed her eyes. “I need some time to think,” she murmured as she drew out of his arms and began to walk away from everyone.

(BREAK)

It was just after one a.m. when Hawkes finally walked out of the operating room. He had told the other surgeons that he would take care of notifying the group in the waiting room. Lines of exhaustion and heartache lined his face as he slowly made his way into the room.

He noticed Lindsay, Stella and Flack asleep in the chairs. Mac was staring at a newspaper, not even seeing the words on the page.

Danny sat as he had been all day, his head in his hands. His tears had stopped, but he still looked grim. He glanced up as he felt Hawkes walk into the room. He took one look at his face and broke down. “She’s dead, isn’t she?”

The sleeping members awoke at his anguished cry. Alexis was barely holding on to her control, trying to be strong for Danny.

Hawkes sighed. “No, she’s not dead. But, it’s not good, Dan. I’m not going to lie to you. It was touch and go there for a while. She lost a lot of blood. The bullet ricocheted in her body and caused some severe damage. We managed to stop the bleeding, but we had to perform a partial hysterectomy. The bullet also hit her spine, so we don’t know the extent of the damage there.” He drew a tired hand down his face. “She slipped into a coma. We did all we could, but the longer she is in the coma, the more likely it is that she will not wake up.” He sat down as he finished delivering the bad news. Lydia immediately went to him, putting her arms around him.

Danny sat there in shock, the realization of what Hawkes said sitting in. He stood up abruptly, knocking the chair over in his anger. “Damn it! No!” He tried to relieve his rage by punching the wall.

Mac rushed to him, trying to calm him down. “Danny. Stop it. You can’t do anything. She’s alive. She’s not dead. It’s up to her now. You know how strong she is. Don’t give up on her.”

Danny continued to fight half-heartedly against Mac. Finally, Hawkes intervened and insisted that Danny take a sedative and promised him that when he was allowed in, he could sit with Cory, no regards to the visiting hours.

Mollified somewhat, Danny conceded as sleep overtook him.


	24. A Decision Made

Chapter 24.

** A Decision Made **

_Danny stared down at the recently turned earth as the relentless Texas sun beat down on him. He remembered Cory saying that he hadn’t experienced a true heat until you stood in the Texas sun in the middle of August. He gazed at the headstone._ Corrine Danielle Reid. April 1, 1976 – July 25, 2007. Beloved Daughter and Friend. Death is not an ending, it is only a beginning. _Somberly, he bent over and laid the bouquet of red and yellow roses on the earth as tears fell down his face. “_ Bella. _I can’t believe that you’re gone. I miss you.”_

Danny awoke with a start from the nightmare that had been plaguing his dreams for the previous month since Cory had been shot. He looked around the private room where she was lying. He ran his hand down his face, not even registering the stubble of his unshaven beard. He heard a low murmur of voices outside of the room.

_“I’m worried about him Sheldon,”_ a female voice said. _“He’s not eating. He’s lost at least fifteen pounds in the last month; his skin is sallow and his eyes sunken in. If Cory doesn’t wake up soon, you’re going to have him as a patient.”_

_“I know. We’ve all tried to get him to eat, but nothing.”_

Danny decided to speak up at this point. “You know I can hear you, right?”

Alexis and Hawkes looked into the room with a guilty expression. Alexis got a stern mothering look on her face. “I don’t care, young man. You need to eat. At this rate, you’re going to kill yourself before she wakes up.”

“If she ever wakes up,” Danny muttered under his breath.

Alexis heard him and decided to give him a good tongue lashing. “That’s it. No more of that kind of talk. If you don’t think that she’ll live, then you’re doing her no good! If you don’t change your attitude, you can just leave and not return until you can be positive!”

Danny sat back at her harsh words, the truth of them penetrating his mind. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Alexis smiled. “That’s okay.” She looked at Danny carefully. “Look, Danny. Why don’t you go home, get changed and clean up. I made a pot roast last night, so eat some of that. If you don’t, I’m going to ban you from the hospital until you do eat.”

Danny sighed in defeat. “Okay. I’ll go, but if anything changes in her condition, call me immediately!”

Alexis smiled. “You bet.” She watched as Danny left the room, her mask of confidence disintegrating. She took the seat that he had vacated and gently picked up Cory’s hand. “Cory? Please, wake up. I know that they say people in comas can hear what’s going on around them, so please hear me. Danny is lost without you. If you don’t wake up soon, I think he’s going to collapse from the strain. It’s gotten bad enough that Mac has taken him out of the field. He’s strictly on lab work until he can get himself under control.” Slowly, tears began to run down Alexis’ face as well. “Please,” she begged brokenly. “I can’t lose you as well.”

(BREAK)

When Danny got back to the hospital, he felt much better. He had shaved for the first time in three days and the pot roast that Alexis made had been delicious. He returned with a lighter heart and more hope.

When he walked into the room, he noticed Alexis asleep in the chair next to Cory, her face stained with tears. His heart broke as he realized what kind of a toll this was taking on her. A light bulb went on in his head as he realized that she and Cory reacted in similar ways. When Cory was upset, she always did one of three things. Cook, clean or clean her gun. Alexis wasn’t any different. He had never seen their apartment as sparkling clean as it had been over the past month, not that either of them were slobs. There were enough prepared meals to feed an army. Sighing, he touched her arm slightly. “Alexis?”

Alexis woke up at the slight touch, feeling groggy. “Uh-huh? What’s the matter?”

Danny smiled slightly. “Nothing. Why don’t you go and get some sleep? You look exhausted.”

Alexis nodded. “Okay. I don’t want to leave, but I think that the nurses will let me sleep in their break room.”

Danny nodded in agreement and watched as she walked out of the room. Grabbing a book, he proceeded to begin to read to Cory, picking up where he’d left off.

His voice was his only companion for an hour, as he read _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_ to Cory in Italian, since she loved it when he talked to her in Italian. He was up to chapter nineteen when the monitors went crazy and Cory began to thrash around on the bed.

In a panic, he ran for the door, yelling for a doctor. Alexis heard his cries and exited the break room in a run. Danny was pushed to the side as a team of doctors began to work on her. _Please, God. Please, let her live,_ he prayed.

Finally, fifteen minutes after the seizures had begun, they suddenly stopped. The heart monitor went back to normal and Danny looked up in relief. “Is she okay,” he asked quietly. Alexis stood beside him, holding his hand tightly.

Cory’s primary doctor, Dr. Alonzo, smiled. “She’s doing just fine. Believe it or not, this is a good sigh. The increased brain activity means that she will more than likely wake up within the next week.”

Both Danny and Alexis felt relief course through their bodies and each sagged a little. “Oh, thank God,” Alexis whispered.

Danny praised God silently and as the doctors left the room, he resumed his place by her bedside and continued reading. He had just begun chapter twenty-three when he heard a soft sigh. Dropping the book in his excitement, he looked at Cory. Her eyelids were fluttering.

“ _Bella?_ Cory? Can you hear me?” he asked as he picked up her hand. “Please, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand.”

Across the bed from him, Alexis also picked up her hand. Soon both of them felt faint pressure on their fingers as Cory contracted her fingers.

Danny looked at Alexis, who smiled broadly and quickly went to find Dr. Alonzo.

Danny gripped her hand, tightly, not wanting to let go. “Oh, thank you. Cory…” he trailed off as she opened her hazel eyes, squinting in the bright light. She tried to speak, but her throat was scratchy and dry.

Danny understood what was going on and patted her hand. “Hold on, _bella._ Your mom has gone to get Dr. Alonzo. Once he looks you over, we’ll see if we can get you to talking.”

Cory nodded, feeling uneasy about Danny’s appearance. _He looks sick,_ she thought. She waited, somewhat impatiently for the doctor to arrive. When he did, he was all smiles.

“Well, Cory. You’ve made an amazing recovery. Do you remember what happened?” he asked.

Cory nodded her head and croaked out, “Yes.”

Dr. Alonzo saw her difficulty and motioned to Danny that he could give her some water through a straw.

Once he did, she felt the dryness in her throat decrease. She turned her gaze to Danny and asked, “Was it Frasier?”

Danny nodded solemnly. “Yes. Flack and Mac caught him trying to flee the scene. He’s behind bars, sweetheart.”

Cory closed her eyes in relief. “How long have I been out?”

Danny sighed. “A month.”

Her eyes flew open. “A month?” she exclaimed.

Alexis nodded. “Yes, sweetie. After the doctors saved your life, you slipped into a coma. We didn’t know if you were ever going to come out of it.”

Cory suddenly realized why Danny looked so haggard. “Oh,” she said as she yawned.

Dr. Alonzo noticed her tiredness. “Why don’t you get some rest? I’m sure that everyone will come up and see you as soon as possible.”

Cory nodded, feeling her energy drain out of her body. “Okay.”

Alexis, sensing that Cory and Danny needed to be alone, excused herself under the pretense of notifying everyone that she was awake.

Cory looked at Danny. “ _Chere._ What are my injuries?”

Danny shuddered at the memories her question invoked. “You lost an ovary and they thought that you might be paralyzed since the bullet ricocheted off of your spine. They did do some tests while you were in the coma and they do think that you will be able to walk again.”

Cory stared at him, the memories of what she had believed to be a dream crashing to the forefront. “I thought it was a dream,” she muttered.

Danny drew his eyebrows together. “You thought what was a dream?”

Cory sighed. “I was in Limbo. James, Michael, Armando and Aunt CC were there. I had a choice on whether to live or to die.”

Danny felt the blood drain from his face. “What?”

Cory raised her eyebrows. “I remember coming down here. I watched Hawkes perform the surgery on me. I knew that I had lost an ovary and that it was a great possibility that I would be paralyzed.”

Danny shook his head, not believing what he was hearing. “If that’s true then why did you choose to come back?”

Cory smiled softly. “For you.”

Danny was confused. “Wait. You just said that you were with James. Why not choose to stay with him? Why come back for me?”

“Because I love you. James is in a good place, but you would have been destroyed if I had died. Hell, look at you right now. You look like a walking skeleton. How could I do that to someone that I love?”

Danny felt tears slide down his cheek. “I love you,” he said before bending down and kissing her softly.


	25. The Hunt Begins

Chapter 25.

** The Hunt Begins **

Nearly two months had passed since Cory had awoken in the hospital. During that time, she was subjected to much physical and mental therapy. After making weekly visits to a psychiatrist, she was finally cleared to go back to work.

When she rose from bed that morning, Danny looked at her in speculation. “Are you sure that you’re ready to go back? You don’t have to work, you know.”

Cory smiled. “I know. But it’s time. Frasier’s trial is in the next month and Mom is ready to go home. I’m feeling a million times better and I’m bored at just staying at home. Plus, I need to catch Montoya. I have this feeling that time is running out. He’s planning something.”

Danny nodded, knowing to trust her feelings. “Awight. Just be careful. I almost lost you once.” He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss.

Cory felt any remaining tension in her body leave with that kiss. When it ended, she walked into the bathroom to get ready for work.

(BREAK)

At nine a.m. Cory walked into the FBI building, much to the surprise of Andrew. “Cory!” he called. “You’re back at work. How are you feeling?”

Cory smiled at the younger man, who for once did not try to hit on her. “I’m ready to be back. How have things been here?”

Andrew got a familiar twinkle in his eye. “Ya know, boring without you. You always brighten my day.”

Cory laughed as she rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Go back to work, Andrew.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Cory walked past him to the elevators and when she arrived on her floor was astonished to find a welcome back party. She looked at Lydia, who just smiled. “You deserve it.”

“Lydia,” she said. “You didn’t have to. I just want to get back to work.”

Lydia brushed her aside. “Sure, I know that, but you deserve this. The team hasn’t been the same without you.” Lydia enveloped her in a hug. “Welcome back,” she whispered.

Cory smiled as she brushed some tears away. She turned to her friends and colleagues and said, “Okay. I know y’all are happy to have me back. So we need to conclude this quickly so that we can get back to work. Crime doesn’t stop.”

The rest of the department knew the truth in her words and they quickly decided to end the party to go back to their respective investigations. Once she had made it to her office, she called Lydia in for a conference. “So,” she began once Lydia was seated. “What’s the status on our investigations?”

Lydia began to list everything that had happened in the previous two months.

(BREAK)

Meanwhile, at the crime lab, Danny was hard at work trying to match a fingerprint from a crime scene. He was working quickly, with a smile on his face.

Lindsay walked in, noting his lighthearted mood and sat down next to him. “So, I take it that Cory went back to work?”

Danny smiled. “Yup. Gawd, Montana. I’ve never been so happy. The last two months have been so rough. I still don’t know how she survived it. Especially when the doctor told her that it would be very difficult for her to have children.”

Lindsay thought for a moment. “I think a lot of it has to do with you, Messer. You were her rock. Plus, with Frasier behind bars, that took a lot of stress away from her.”

Danny shrugged, just as the computer beeped. “Aw, look at that. I found a match to my fingerprint. Let’s see now, name: Daniel Craven. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta go find Flack.”

Lindsay raised her eyebrows. “He’s out on a call. DB on 78th with Mac and Hawkes.” She went to say more, but suddenly her stomach lurched. She got up out of her chair and dashed to the bathroom, just in time since her breakfast decided to make reappearance.

Danny watched Lindsay’s flight from the room with some concern. Quickly, he got up to follow her. When he saw her go into the women’s restroom, he decided to recruit Stella to help him. “Stella!” he called as she got out of the elevator. 

“What’s wrong, Danny?” she asked, noting his look of concern.

“Lindsay just ran into the bathroom. Can you check to see if she’s alright?”

Stella nodded. “Sure.” Stella quickly walked in, to find Lindsay rinsing out her mouth. “You okay, Linds?”

Lindsay looked at Stella in the mirror. “I’m not sure. I’ve been sick at my stomach for the past week. I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. It’s weird. I’m not running a fever or anything.”

Stella raised her eyebrows, a smile on her face. “Is it possible that you’re pregnant?”

The blood drained out of Lindsay’s face at the revelation. “Shit.” She closed her eyes briefly, trying to remember the last time that she’d had her cycle. “It’s been three weeks since Aunt Flo paid a visit. It’s possible.” She looked at Stella, panic in her eyes. “God, Stella. What am I going to do?”

Stella, sensing her distress, put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Well, first of all, we’ll go to a pharmacy and get a home pregnancy test. Then, when you go to the doctor tomorrow, have them run a blood test. It’ll be alright.”

Lindsay calmed at her friend’s wise words. “Okay. I just have to make it through the day. That’s it.”

Stella smiled. “Danny’s worried about you. He sent me in here. What do you want to tell him?”

Lindsay thought for a moment and looked at Stella. “Food poisoning. Definitely. I don’t want Don to suspect anything until I know for sure.”

Stella laughed. “I understand.”

Lindsay laughed as she walked out of the restroom with Stella, only to find Danny standing there looking concerned. “I’m fine, Messer. My breakfast didn’t agree with me.”

Danny looked a little mollified. “Awight. Flack will kill me if you get sick on him. I’m just looking out for my hide.”

Lindsay rolled her eyes as she walked past him. “Go catch your killer, Messer.”

(BREAK)

Cory sighed as Lydia finally got her up to date. “Okay, so the rest of the cases are going good, except for Montoya.”

Lydia nodded. “Yeah. It’s like he’s gone underground since Frasier was arrested. Absolutely no chatter whatsoever,” Lydia growled in her frustration. “To top it all off, Frasier will not give us any info on him.”

Cory nodded. “It’s frustrating. Have we been able to see if we can get someone into the organization?”

“Well,” Lydia began. “I have an idea for someone that I want to try to get undercover, but I wanted to run it past you first.”

Cory drew her eyebrows together. “Okay. I’m not sure I like the sound of that.”

Lydia sighed. “The person that I want to send is Ovidio Cruz.”

Cory thought for a moment. “Isn’t he the one that was suspected of roughing up suspects?”

Lydia nodded. “Yeah. I think that he would make a convincing gang member, though.”

Cory looked at her. “Let me think about it, review his file and I’ll get back to you.”

Lydia nodded then glanced down at her watch. “Okay. I have to go. I’m meeting Sheldon for lunch.”

Cory nodded and watched as she walked out. Cory sighed and quickly made a request to have Cruz’s personnel file sent to her.

(BREAK)

When Stella was getting ready to leave for the day, she grabbed Lindsay. “Come on, Linds. I talked to Mac and told him that since we are not swamped, then you could take off early to help me with a special project.”

Lindsay looked at her in confusion. “Huh?”

Stella rolled her eyes. “Remember what we talked about this morning?”

“Yeah,” Lindsay said and then it dawned on her what Stella was talking about. “Oh! Okay, I’m back on planet earth now. Okay. Let me finish this and then we can leave.”

Thirty minutes later, they were standing in the pharmacy, trying to decide on which test to take. Stella finally took the lead. “Get these two. That way, you have a backup!”

Lindsay laughed and did as she was told. After she had paid the cashier, Stella drove them to her apartment. “I figured that you might want to do this here so that Don won’t suspect anything.”

Lindsay looked at her gratefully. “Thanks.”

An hour later, Lindsay was staring down at both tests in her hand. “Two lines. That means I’m pregnant, right?”

Stella looked at the younger woman. “Yeah. How do you feel about it?”

“I think I’m in shock right now. I don’t know what to feel. Wow.” 

Stella patted her on the back. “You’ll be okay. I know that Don’s excited about being a father one day. He wants to be a good role model.”

Lindsay smiled faintly. “I know. We’ve discussed that we both want kids, three to be specific, but I’m not sure I’m ready.”

“Lindsay, you’ll be a great mom. Don’t worry about it. This was meant to be!”

Lindsay nodded. “Okay. I think that I’m not going to tell Don until I get the results from the doctor.”

Stella nodded. “Sure. Now, go home and get some rest.”

Lindsay stood up and decided to take her advice.

(BREAK)

About five o’clock that afternoon, Cory called both Lydia and Agent Cruz into her office. When Agent Cruz arrived, she motioned for him to shut the door. He did so and looked at her in confusion.

“Agent Cruz, I’ve been reviewing your records. Agent Sanchez and I have a proposition for you.”

“Okay. What is it?”

“Are you familiar with the Los Dios drug cartel?” Lydia asked.

“I’ve heard of them.”

Cory took up the thread from there. “We would like you to go undercover and try to unearth some evidence against its leader, Javier Montoya. This will be a very risky operation. He is based in Columbia and very, very suspicious.” Cory sighed. “I will warn you, that if you do go undercover and something goes wrong, I can’t guarantee that we will be able to extract you from the situation.”

Lydia looked at Cory, knowing that she was thinking that she was sending the agent to his death. “We’ll do everything that we can, but it might be impossible. This is a voluntary assignment. You can refuse it and no harm will come of that refusal.”

Agent Cruz looked at both women. “I understand. I need some time to think about this. Can I get back to you within the next couple of days?”

Cory nodded. “That would be fine. You may go.”

Agent Cruz left her office and Cory looked at Lydia. “I don’t like this. It’s a necessary evil, but I hate knowingly having to put someone in danger. It goes against everything that I hold dear.”

Lydia nodded in her understanding. “I know, but like you said, it’s a necessary evil.”

Cory sighed again and looked out her window, praying that if Agent Cruz accepted, no harm would come to him.


	26. Black Ops

Chapter 26.

** Black Ops **

When Cory got home that night, she was exhausted. She’d forgotten just how much more stress she felt when she was at work. She sniffed as she walked into the apartment and found Alexis cooking dinner. “Hey, Mom. How was you’re day?” she asked.

Alexis looked up at her. “It was good. Listen, now that Frasier has been caught and you are back to work, I think it’s time for me to get home. Beth said that she missed me, even though she spent a week up here visiting.”

Cory smiled at her mother; she had known that she would decide to leave soon. “Mom, it’s okay. I didn’t expect you to stay this long. Go home. Get back to work.”

Alexis smiled in relief. “Thank you sweetheart,” she said as she embraced her. “I’ll miss you and Danny. I truly feel like he’s part of the family now.”

Cory smiled as she laughed. “Thanks, Mom. We’ll try to make it down there for Christmas. If we can’t, I’ll fly everyone up here!” She walked into the kitchen. “Now, please let me help make dinner. I need to unwind.”

Alexis nodded and they finished up dinner quickly.

\-------------------------------------

Lindsay got up early the next day. Flack was still asleep, so she left him a note saying that she had an errand to run before work and she would see him there. She got to the doctor’s office and quickly signed in.

After waiting for fifteen minutes, she was shown to an exam room, where she sat down nervously. Her doctor, Dr. Aiko Hayashi, walked in a couple of minutes later. “Lindsay,” she said. “How are you?”

Lindsay smiled. “Pretty good.”

Dr. Hayashi nodded. “I see that you got married a couple of months ago. Congratulations.”

Lindsay smiled. “Thanks.”

Dr. Hayashi looked at the chart. “It says here that you were complaining of feeling a bit run down and some nausea?”

Lindsay nodded. “Yeah. I took a home pregnancy test last night and it came back positive.”

The doctor nodded. “Okay. We’ll do a blood test, but I also want to make sure there’s not anything else wrong. If you’ll just hop up on the table, I’ll get started.”

Lindsay did as she was told.

\---------------------------------

Cory got up the next morning, plans already forming on how to get someone into Los Dios. She sighed, knowing that all her plans hinged on whether or not Cruz would accept the assignment. 

Danny looked up from his coffee at her sigh. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just getting back to work has been an eye-opener. I’m just trying to make plans for the case.”

Danny smiled. “You can do it. You’re the most organized person that I know.”

Cory smiled as she grabbed her briefcase then bent over to give him a kiss. “You off today?” she asked.

Danny nodded. “Yeah. I think that I’m going to hang around for a while, catch up on my reading.”

Cory raised her eyebrows. “Ya know. If you don’t want me to know what you’re doing, it’s easier just to say you’re running errands.”

Danny had the grace to flush at her words. “Sorry. I just want to hang out with the guys today. Didn’t want you to worry.”

Cory just laughed. “Have fun.” She grabbed her keys and quickly headed out the door.

When she arrived at work, she was surprised to see Agent Cruz waiting out of her office for her. “Agent Cruz,” she acknowledged. She opened the office door and motioned for him to follow her. “What can I do for you?”

“I have been thinking about your proposition. I’d like to accept.”

Cory felt her emotions at war inside of her. On one hand she was happy that she might have found a way into the group, but on the other…she was nervous that she was sending a man to his death. Finally, after wrestling with herself, she smiled up at him. “Okay. Then give me a bit to actually work out the logistics and to come up with a background for you.”

Cruz nodded and walked out of her office. 

Cory pushed her emotions to the side and began to gather together enough info to create a believable background for Cruz. Running a hand over her forehead, she knew that she was in for a long day.

\----------------------------------

Danny waited an hour after Cory left to begin his mission. He quickly dressed and grabbed his wallet. Then he turned on the computer and began to browse online. Grinning at the gift he had found, he withdrew his credit card from his wallet and purchased it.

Once that was done, Danny called Hawkes. “Hey, Hawkes. Listen. I need some help on a special project. Can you meet me for lunch?”

_“Sure. What’s going on?”_

Danny smiled. “I’ll tell you at lunch.” He quickly repeated the call to Flack and as he hung up the phone, smiled like the Cheshire cat.

\---------------------------------

Once Cory had completed her plans, she made a call.

_“Fielding.”_

“Agent Fielding, it’s Agent Reid.”

_“How are you?”_

“Fine. Listen, I’m going to be placing an agent undercover in Los Dios. I need any info that you have on upcoming drug raids, so that I can help build a criminal background for him.”

_“Hum. Let me check with everyone and get back to you. I’m not sure what’s in the pipes right now.”_

“Sure, not a prob. Just let me know. I’m working on building him an alias right now.” Cory made a couple of notes on her notepad as hung up the phone. Looking at the clock, she put in a call to Flack, but got his voicemail. Quickly, she left a message for him.

While she was working, Lydia came in. “Okay. You’re working in a fever pitch, making a lot of notes. Cruz must have accepted.”

Cory nodded. “Yeah. I’m trying to build a background for him. I know that he is from Spain. Can we use that to make his past seem more reasonable?”

Lydia tapped her pen on her lips. “Hum. What if we make it where he has just arrived from Spain? He’s trying to open the drug trade from there to here. He can go around making inquiries to whom he would need to speak with to open the trade here. I can work with the Spanish police to build a criminal background for him there.”

Cory widened her eyes. “I hadn’t thought of that! Thanks.” She motioned to her chair. “Please have a seat and let’s get this done.”

\------------------------------------

Two days later, their preparations were done. Cory gave Agent Cruz his new identity and sent him off to try to infiltrate the cartel. Cory watched him leave with a feeling of dread. Somehow she knew that he wasn’t coming back from this.

Sighing in depression, she gathered her purse and made her way back home with a heavy heart.


	27. Oh say can you see

Chapter 27.

** Oh, say can you see? **

Several weeks had passed and Cory deemed it time for a break. Cruz was working on getting himself involved in the drug trade, so until they got more info, the investigation was on hold. She looked at the Dallas Cowboy’s schedule and realized that on Sunday, they were playing the New York Giants. She grinned in anticipation. Picking up the phone on the Friday before the game, she quickly called Danny.

_“Messer.”_

“Hey, Danny. It’s me.”

_“Hey, sweetheart. What’s up?”_

“I was wondering if we could have a football watching party on Sunday.”

_“Hum…”_ Danny temporized. _“It’s possible. I’ll have to check everyone’s schedules, but if everyone is free, I don’t see why not. What game is it?”_

Cory grinned. “Giants against the ‘Boys.” She giggled. “Ya know that I’m going to have to root for my boys, right?”

_“Come on. You live in New York now! You have to root for the Giants. It’s like a law or something!”_

Cory began to laugh even harder. “ _Chere._ I’m from Texas. It would be blasphemy for me to cheer for anyone else. Especially a team that they were playing against!”

Danny rolled his eyes. _“Whatever. I’ll ask around and let you know tonight. If they can’t make it, I’ll make sure that we go somewhere to watch the game.”_

“Okay, I’ll hold you to that. I do want to see if the girls want to have a spa day tomorrow. It’s been so long since we’ve pampered ourselves.”

_“They are all off during the morning. Both Lindsay and Stella have the swing shift tomorrow. I’ll let them know that you want to do that spa thing.”_

“Thanks.” Cory looked up to see Lydia standing at her door. “Well, work calls. I’ll talk to you tonight. I love you.”

_“I love you, too. Bye.”_

Cory hung up the phone and looked at Lydia expectantly. “Yes?”

Lydia smiled. “Talking to Danny?” Cory nodded yes. “Good. You get this glow when you talk to him. Anyway, I have some info from Cruz.”

Cory sat up a little straighter. “Do tell.”

“Well,” Lydia began. “He’s managed to make contact with some drug runners. Letting him know that he’s interested in supplying. He said that they are being cautious and it’s going to take a long time to gain their trust. He also said to pass on to the NYPD the location of a drug drop that he’s not supposed to know about. He plans on getting himself invited and then arrested to solidify his rep.”

Cory raised her eyebrows. “He’s being very thorough. I like that. Pass on the info to NYPD, but don’t let them know that we have an undercover agent on the inside. I don’t want any possibilities of a leak. Nothing can compromise this operation. Remember, this is a black op. We can’t even acknowledge it.”

Lydia nodded. “I understand. I think that he expects it. He knows that we will only extract him if and when we can.”

Cory nodded and waved by to Lydia as she walked out of the office.

\--------------------

Meanwhile, at the Crime Lab, Danny hung up with Cory with a smile on his face. He quickly cornered the rest of the team and told them to tell Cory that they had to work on Sunday.

Lindsay and Stella looked at Danny in concern. “Okay, Danny,” Stella said. “Why do you want us to lie to Cory?”

“I have a surprise planned for her. That’s all I’m going to say.”

Lindsay and Stella nodded for a moment. “Alright. We won’t tell her that we are really off work,” Lindsay said.

“Thanks. By the way, Cory wants to have a spa day tomorrow morning.”

Both women smiled. “We’re in!” they chorused.

\--------------------

Saturday morning dawned early for Cory. She awoke around six and quickly made some coffee. She knew that Danny was working the early shift, so she made him breakfast. About six-thirty, he rolled out of bed, yawning. When he walked into the kitchen, he grabbed the coffee mug that she was offering. “Thanks,” he mumbled.

After they had eaten, Danny made his way off to work and Cory her way to the salon. She had called in a favor to get them all appointments that morning. She pulled up to the salon at the same time as Stella and Lindsay. They waited a couple of minutes and Lydia arrived in a rush. “Sorry, traffic was horrendous!”

Cory smiled. “No worries. On tap for day…massages, mani’s, pedi’s and hopefully a facial!”

All the women groaned in anticipation. “God, I need a good massage, so bad,” Lindsay drawled.

Cory led the way in and soon, they were all in the massage rooms. After the hour was up, they reconvened for the mani’s and pedi’s. 

“So,” Cory began. “Y’all able to make it to the football party tomorrow?”

The other women shook their heads. “Sorry, Lindsay and I have to work,” Stella said.

Cory turned her gaze to Lydia. “Nope. I promised my mom and dad that I would visit them this weekend.”

Cory frowned. “Damn. Oh, well. We’ll do it some other time.” She looked down at her nails, she had chosen a French Manicure, and sighed. “Oh, this is so nice. We should make this a regular thing. I so miss getting my nails done!”

The other women agreed and soon they were walking out of the salon, relaxed. Cory smiled at Stella and Lindsay. “Have a good day at work, y’all.”

Lindsay smiled at her. “After this morning, we’ll definitely try!”

Cory smiled as she got in her car for the drive home. _Yes, this definitely will become a regular thing._

\---------------------

Danny woke Cory up about eight a.m. on Sunday and treated her to breakfast in bed. “Okay. Did you do something wrong or something?” she asked in surprise.

Danny shook his head. “Nope. I just wanted to treat you. I do have a surprise for you today, though.”

Cory raised an eyebrow. “Okay. Spill. What’s going on?”

Danny grinned and reached into the nightstand. He withdrew an envelope and handed it to her. “Here. Open this.”

Cory complied and her jaw dropped as she realized what was inside. “Fifty yard line tickets to the game today?” She quickly moved the tray out of the way and threw herself into his arms. “Have I told you how much I love you?”

Danny grinned. “Nope, but that’s okay. Now, we’re leaving at noon to get to Shay Stadium. Be ready.”

Cory got a playful smirk on her face. “Oh, I can be, but first…” she trailed off as her hands began to roam his body. She they found her target, she felt more than heard his groan of pleasure.

\------------------------------

Promptly at noon, Danny and Cory walked out of the apartment. She in a Dallas jersey and he in a Giants jersey. She looked at them and laughed. “We look like a very odd couple, here.”

Danny laughed along with her. “Yeah, many, many New Yorkers are going to be cursing me for having you on my arm.”

She smirked. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.” 

Danny just rolled his eyes. When they arrived at the stadium, she was surprised to have Danny pull her to the side. “One more thing.”

“Okay…what?”

“You’re singing the national anthem.”

“I’m what!” she exclaimed. “But…but…”

Danny put a finger over her lips. “Shush. Cory, you have a beautiful voice. Now, while I would like you to root for the Giants, I won’t risk never getting laid again. So come on. Your mom also helped me arrange it so that you get to meet the players.”

Cory stopped in her tracked, stunned. “I…I…I’m speechless!”

“Good. That’s the expression that I was going for. Let’s go meet them!”

Cory meekly followed Danny to the press box. When they got their passes, he took her down to the locker rooms, so she could meet the players first. He insisted that they had to meet the Giants first, then he would let her meet the Cowboys.

She followed his lead and felt overwhelmed at all the men greeting her. She admitted to herself that she was a little star struck. When the meet and greet was over, she held onto Danny’s hand as they walked out onto the field. “Wow. It’s not like Texas Stadium, but it’s still very impressive,” she said as she craned her neck.

She paced impatiently and nervously as game time got closer. She hated singing the national anthem, but she wouldn’t admit that to Danny. She believed that she really couldn’t sing it well enough to be televised to millions of people. Trying to calm her nerves, she chanted the song to herself in her head, over and over, trying not to forget the words.

She jumped when a hand lightly touched her arm. She looked up into the knowing eyes of the producer as he nodded. It was time. Taking a last calming breath, she kissed Danny lightly and followed the producer to the sidelines, to get her microphone. Then she waited.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Singing the national anthem is Special Agent Corrine Reid from the FBI!”

Cory walked onto the field, trying to calm herself. She waited while the fans and players stood and then began to sing.

She chose to focus on Danny, knowing that he would keep her calm and although she felt that she had stumbled at bit at first, overall, she thought she did a passable job. Grateful to be out of the spotlight, she quickly returned the mike and walked back to Danny. “Messer,” she growled lowly. “If you ever spring something like that on me again, I will dismember you. God! I was so nervous!”

“You did fine, _bella._ I’m proud of you. Let’s go sit down.”

Cory smiled at him in gratitude and followed him to their seats.

Cory and Danny watched the game avidly throughout the first half. He was helping her to learn the finer points of the game, while she was gloating that her ‘Boys were winning before half-time. During a brief replay break she turned to him. “Okay, so let me get this straight. You can tackle by grabbing their jersey, but you can not grab the shoulder pads, right?”

Danny nodded, loving the fact that he was getting to teach her something. “Yeah. If you pull the player down by the shoulder pads it’s an automatic penalty. Also, no helmet to helmet contact. The League takes that very seriously. Even if it’s not called during the game, a player usually gets fined for it the following week.”

Cory nodded her understanding. “Gotcha. Oh look, the refs coming back on the field.” She watched as the ref made his call, in favor of the Giants and groaned, while Danny cheered.

When half-time rolled around, she felt like her head was going to burst with all the knowledge that Danny had imparted on her. She got up to go to the bathroom, but Danny pulled her back down. “Wait until right after the third quarter starts. Less lines.”

“Okay. I can do that,” she said as she grinned at him. She noticed that Danny was getting distracted. At first she thought it was the cheerleaders, until she noticed him glancing at his watch. “You got somewhere to be, Messer?”

Danny saw her watching him and grinned. “Nope. Just counting the minutes until my Giants come back at kick some Cowboy butt.”

Cory just rolled her eyes. Then she noticed the JumboTron. “Hey, look. We’re on the JumboTron!” She turned to Danny, only to notice him dropping to one knee and holding a box out in front of him. Shocked, she looked back at the screen, cheeks growing red in embarrassment as she noticed they were still on screen, except know there were words to go along with the picture. _“Cory. Will you marry me? Danny,”_ is what it said. 

She looked down at him in shock as he repeated the words. _“Bella,_ you are my reason for living. I love you more than life itself. Will you marry me?” he asked with a look of hope in his eyes.

Cory sat there in shock, while Danny nervously thought he was about to get shot down in front of millions of people. Then, a huge smile lighting up her face, Cory threw herself in his arms and murmured, “Yes.”

Shaking, Danny put the ring on her finger as the announcer proclaimed, “She said yes! Congratulations!”

Cory didn’t hear him; she was too busy kissing Danny.


	28. Down with the sickness

Chapter 28.

** Down with the Sickness **

When Cory got home that night, she felt like she was walking on air. She kept looking down at the shiny ring on her finger. “Danny?”

“Hmm, _bella_?”

“How did you know what kind of ring I wanted? It’s perfect.”

Danny smiled. “I’m just good that way.”

Cory rolled her eyes, but smiled at him anyway. Then she felt her phone vibrate. “Reid.”

_“Cory? Oh my God! That was so romantic! Please tell Danny that he has set the bar very high for any man that wants to propose now.”_

Cory smiled. “Okay, Nic. I will. How are you, Henry and the kids?”

_“Okay. I’m just so jealous right now. That was so romantic!”_

Cory laughed. “Yeah, it was. I can’t stop smiling.”

_“Good. I’m going to let you go, so you can thank him properly now. Talk to you later!”_

Cory hung up with Nicole. “You have a fan,” she said to Danny. “Oh yeah. You’ve set the bar really high for every other man who wants to propose.”

Danny laughed as he drew her into his arms. “Only the best for you. _Ti amo._ ”

“ _Je t’aime avec tout mon couer,_ ” she replied as she leaned in for a kiss.

\-------------------------

The next day, when Cory walked into headquarters, she was greeted by a heartbroken Andrew. She looked at him when he greeted her. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re getting married.”

“Um. Yeah. That’s what you generally do when you love someone and they love you back.”

Andrew sighed. “I know, but I was hoping that…” he trailed off.

Cory looked at him in resignation. “You were hoping that I’d break up with Danny and go out with you?” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Andrew, as flattered as I am, you are way too young for me. You’re only twenty-three. You have your whole life ahead of you. You don’t need to be with someone like me. I’d chew you up and spit you out. Danny’s my match in every way. He’s not afraid to yell at me when I yell at him. Understand?”

Andrew still looked crestfallen, but he realized that it was a futile attempt. Forcing a smile back on his face he said, “Okay. I’m still going to flirt with you though. If it doesn’t work out with him, I’m always here for you.”

Cory rolled her eyes as she laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She walked past him and into the elevator.

\-------------------------

At the crime lab, Danny was grinning ear to ear as he walked in. The first person he saw was Lindsay, who immediately enveloped him in a bear hug. “Congratulations! That was so romantic. I can’t believe you managed to keep that a secret!”

Danny grinned like the Cheshire cat. “I have a few tricks up my sleeve, Montana. You should know that.” He turned from her when he heard Stella call out his name.

“Daniel James Messer!” Stella said, grinning. “Why didn’t you tell us? Huh? Can you not let us in when you’re going to do something so hugely romantic?”

Danny cringed at his full name, but saw from the look on Stella’s face that she was just joking with him. “Stel? Why did you have to middle name me?”

Stella laughed. “Just to see your reaction. Congratulations.”

“Thanks. Can I maybe get to my office now?”

Both women laughed and let him continue on to his office. Once there, he started checking up on his cases, but was interrupted by Flack. “So, Mr. Romantic. You just had to show all of us up, didn’t ya?”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Okay, Mr. I Proposed On Top of The Empire State Building.” Danny shot Flack a look. 

Flack raised his hands. “Okay. I have no room to talk. So?”

Danny looked confused. “So, what?”

“How good was the sex last night?”

Danny just threw his pen at Flack. “Why are you here? Go away! Go very far away!”

Flack laughed, but complied with Danny’s request. “Damn. Am I going to have to put up with this all day?”

“Put up with what?” asked Mac from the doorway.

“Getting ribbed for the proposal.”

“Probably, but not from me. We have a case. Drug bust with a fatality on the docks. You up for it?”

“To get me out of here, yeah! Who am I with?”

“Hawkes.”

Danny nodded and grabbed his case as he walked past Mac. “Ya got it boss.”

\----------------

Danny and Hawkes arrived at the crime scene at the same time as Angell.

“Hey, Hawkes. Hey, Mr. Let’s Propose at the Giants Game.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Well if it isn’t the _Angell of Death_. Whadda ya got?”

Angell rolled her eyes accordingly at the nickname Danny had come up with. “Major drug bust, fuelled by a tip from the FBI. Turned into a firefight, two officers hit, one critically, one bad guy killed. Don’t know who killed him. Could have been one of ours or one of theirs. That’s why you’re here.”

Danny shook his head. “What do you want to take Hawkes? Biologicals or shell casings?”

Hawkes looked at Danny and smiled. “It’s a pretty even number of both, so have fun with the shell casings.”

Danny nodded and went to process the scene.

An hour later, Danny and Hawkes had finished processing the scene. Danny sighed wearily. “Man, that was lot of shell casings. We’re going to have to do a lot of comparison to the weapons that were seized.”

Angell walked over. “It looks like the team did capture everyone that was involved in the shooting. How long will it take you to figure out who shot who?”

“It’s going to be a while.” Danny looked at Hawkes, who was packing his kit back up. “We’re going to go back to the lab. I’ll call you if we find anything.” Angell nodded and walked away.

\------------------

Back at the lab, Danny immediately went to the ballistics lab and began to test fire all the guns. He was about halfway through when Angell walked in, a steel glint in her eyes. “One of the cops died,” she growled.

Danny looked at her in surprise. “Damn. Did you get the bullet? From the vic’s?”

Angell nodded, to upset to talk. She just handed him three evidence bags.

Danny nodded, understanding her anger. “I’ll get to work trying to match the bullets to guns. I’ll call you when I know anything.”

Angell nodded as she walked out. 

Danny looked back at the guns and resumed his test firing of the remaining guns. After two hours, he was done. Quickly, he retrieved the bullets from the victims and began the comparison. A fourth of the way in, he decided to take a break, his eyes were beginning to hurt from the strain. Moving his glasses up to rest on his forehead, he rubbed them tiredly. 

This was the position that Mac found him in. “Tired, Danny?”

Danny looked up and quickly started to get back to work. “A little. It’s just all the bullets! I had to test fire about forty guns and now I’m going through the bullets to try to find the matches to the bullets that killed both the cop and the gun runner. I think I might be cross eyed by the time I finish this.”

Mac smiled. “Why don’t you knock off? Log all the evidence and pick it back up in the morning, when you’re fresh.”

Danny considered it. “Naw. I want to finish it up tonight. I’m after a cop killer, Mac.”

Mac nodded, understanding Danny’s drive.

\---------------------

Several hours later, Danny grinned as he got a match. “Bingo!” He quickly compared the gun that the bullet matched to the log of who they were confiscated from. Smiling, he dialed his phone. “Angell. It’s Danny. I got a match to the gun that killed the cop. It was confiscated from Ignacio Sastro Zubizaretta.”

_“Damn it! He just made bail. I’ll go and pick him up.”_

Feeling in a much better mood, Danny finished logging all the evidence and decided to go home.


	29. I will be heard

Chapter 29.

** I will be heard **

The following day, Danny arrived at the lab to find a frustrated Angell waiting for him. “Damn it! He’s in the wind. I searched for him all night and I can’t find the bastard anywhere!”

Danny looked at her, surprised at the vehemence in her voice. “Whoa. Jessica. Calm down. You will find him.” Then he thought about what she had said. “Shit! You haven’t been home? Go grab some shut eye in the break room before you fall over.”

Angell started to protest, but she couldn’t smother the yawn that was threatening to dislocate her jaw. “Okay. I’ll go grab some sleep, but if you find an address on the Ignacio then wake me up!”

Danny nodded his agreement and returned to processing the remaining shell casings from the crime scene. After a couple of hours, his phone rang. “Messer.”

_“Hey. It’s Flack. You seen Angell?”_

“Yeah. She’s asleep in our break room. Tried to pull an all nighter. What’s up?”

_“We have a sighting on Iggy Zoo. Figured she would want to be in on the bust.”_

Danny smiled grimly. “I’ll go get her and send her to the station.” Danny hung up his phone and began to walk into the break room. “Hey, Angell!”

Angell blinked groggily. “Just five more minutes…” she murmured sleepily.

Danny nodded. “Angell…” he said in a sing song voice. “I have a tip on your suspect.”

Angell’s eyes flew open at that. “What? Where is he?” she asked urgently, trying to wipe the sleep from her eyes.

“Flack got the tip. He’s waiting for you at the station to go pick him up.”

“Saints be praised. I’m on my way.”

\-----------------------

Angell and Flack drew their guns as they walked up the stairs. Once at apartment 408, they brought their guns to ready. Flack pounded on the door. “NYPD! Open up!” There was a sound of scrambling from the inside. Flack looked at Angell and quickly broke down the door.

She tore across the room and managed to grab the man trying to climb out the window. “You know. We could have just wanted to talk. But when you try and run, that makes me think you’re guilty of something,” Angell said sarcastically.

The man watched as she slapped cuffs on him. “I want my phone call.”

Thirty minutes later, Angell watched as the man dialed in a number. “It’s Iggy Zoo. We have a situation.”

\-----------------------

Flack watched as Danny and Angell closed in on the man in the interrogation room. “Look, Ignacio. We have the proof showing you fired the gun that killed Officer Gonzales. Your fingerprints are all over it,” Danny said in an exasperated tone of voice.

“I did not kill that Officer,” the tall Hispanic man said. “I must have picked up the gun after he was killed. I did not kill him!”

Angell rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Why don’t I believe you? I have your rap sheet right here. Assault with a deadly weapon, possession with intent to sell, disorderly conduct. It goes on and on. So, you want to tell me again that you didn’t kill him?”

Flack grinned as the suspect got a frustrated look on his face. Angell was wearing him down like she was a cat and he was a mouse. He turned when he felt a person walk up next to him. “Hey, Cory. Why are you here?”

Cory looked into the interrogation room, careful not to reveal any emotions. “I need to talk to Danny and Angell. It’s pretty urgent.”

Flack looked at her. “They’re kinda in the middle of something. Angell’s about to get this punk to actually break! She’s just overwhelming him with the evidence. It’s a beautiful thing to watch.”

A muscle in Cory’s jaw twitched. Ignoring Flack, she walked into the room. “Angell. Messer. We need to talk. Now.”

Danny looked surprised at the sharp tone in her voice, while Angell bristled at it. “Look. I am fully aware that you are an FBI agent, but that does not give you the right to interrupt my interrogation.”

Danny saw a spark light in Cory’s eyes and quickly exited the room, nodding to Flack as he stood beside him.

Cory turned on Angell. “Look. I am an FBI agent and trust me when I say that if I really didn’t need to talk to you, I would never interrupt an interrogation!” Cory grabbed Angell’s arm and dragged her out of the room.

As soon as they were out, Angell wrenched her arm from her grasp. “You bitch! Don’t ever lay a hand on me again! You have no right to interrupt me!”

Flack saw Cory’s hands clinch into fists and quickly stepped between the women, while Cory began to speak in an icy voice. “Look. That man did not kill the cop, Angell.”

Flack looked at Danny, Angell and Cory. “If I may make a suggestion…Take this somewhere a little more private.” Cory nodded as she and Danny began to walk to an unused lab. Flack stopped Angell from following. “Word of advice. If Cory’s interrupting you, then it’s probably got something to do with your case. Don’t piss her off.”

When Angell finally made it into the lab, Cory shot her a glare. “Took ya long enough.”

Angell just shot her a glare. “So what is so damn important that you had to interrupt my interrogation?”

“Like I said. He didn’t kill the cop.”

Danny looked at Cory in confusion. “How do you know? All of the forensic evidence backs it up. He is the most likely suspect. His fingerprints are all over the gun that was used.”

Cory took a calming breath. “Remember that this was a tip off from the FBI? He’s my informant. So I know that he didn’t do it.”

Angell just rolled her eyes. “Are you really so naïve that you think that your informant wouldn’t kill a cop during a shoot out? Give me a break!” She turned to leave the room but Cory’s voice stopped her.

“He’s an undercover agent.”

Both Danny and Angell turned around to stare at her. “And you couldn’t bother telling us this before…why?” Angell asked sarcastically.

Cory glared at her. “Do you tell the FBI every cop you have undercover? No. It’s taken him weeks to get this close to the gang. I didn’t want to risk blowing his cover, especially when I need the information that he is feeding me!” She turned to Danny, pleading him with her eyes. “Danny, please. Find the evidence to prove your theory wrong. I can’t afford to blow his cover unless I absolutely have to. He’s my link to Montoya.”

Danny sighed. “Fine. We’ll treat him like a viable suspect for now, but I’ll see if I can find something to prove him innocent.”

Cory nodded. “Thank you.” With another glare at Angell, she stalked out of the room.

Angell just stood there, unsure of how to proceed. “Okay. I’ll have to keep him in lockup, but if you don’t find that information to prove her right, I’m handing the case over to the DA.”

Danny watched as Angell left the room, feeling pressure. He sighed and made his way into the ballistics lab to begin to reprocess the bullets and the weapons.

The first thing that he did was recompare the bullets. _They match. Okay. So what did he say? Said maybe he picked up the gun after the cop was already down. Maybe I can find another fingerprint._

He took the gun out of the evidence bag and began to study it under the microscope. His brow furrowed when he realized that he had missed a smudged print on the magazine release. _Okay. So there is a partial print there, unfortunately it is too illegible to do anything with. Maybe Iggy is telling the truth. Alright, so I’ll see if there are any other prints on the bullets._

Carefully, Danny released the magazine. He dumped the bullets out, mounted them and then put them in the fogging unit. He put a couple of drops of glue on the heating element and closed the door.

After five minutes, he began to see a fingerprint forming on all the bullets. Smiling, he withdrew the first bullet and lifted the print. He then ran it through AFIS.

After twenty minutes of searching, AFIS found a match. Quickly, he called Angell. “Ya better get over here. You have to see this.”

\-----------------

When Angell showed up, Danny showed her the print. “It comes back to a Claudia Perez. I did a little digging while I was waiting for you. She is involved in a nasty paternity suit with Officer Gonzales. I know it’s not much, but it’s enough to bring her in for questioning.”

Angell nodded and left to go bring her in.

\---------------------

“Claudia, do you know why you’re here today?”

The blonde woman nodded. “No. Does it have something to do with Jorge getting killed?”

Angell nodded. “Yes. Tell me, do you own a gun?”

“No. I’m terrified of the things. Jorge kept asking me if I wanted to learn how to shoot, but I never wanted to.”

Danny pounced on her comment. “So, you’ve never held a gun in your life?” At her affirmative nod he continued, “Then how do you explain your fingerprints on the bullet that killed Jorge?”

Claudia’s eyes widened and she snapped. “Fine. I shot him. Is that what you wanted to here? Good for nothing, lazy S.O.B. Trying to say that my child wasn’t his. I know it is!”

Danny nodded his head. “Really? Cause I have the court DNA test here that proves that he was not the father. So did you kill him just because he didn’t believe you?”

“I ain’t saying another word without a lawyer.”

Both Danny and Angell nodded in disgust. Angell motioned to a uniform standing by the door. “Get her out of here.”

When she was gone, she looked at Danny. “God. I was such a bitch to Cory!”

Danny laughed. “She won’t hold it against you for very long. Just apologize and get it over with.”

Angell shook her head. “I definitely owe her.”

Danny looked at her. ‘Look. I’m the one who brought you the evidence. While I’ll admit that I thought I was right, she did convince me to look closer. Of the reasons that I’ve heard about committing murder, this one has got to be up there!”

Angell laughed and proceeded to go back to the station, so she would put together her part of the case for the DA and release Ignacio.

Danny smiled and put the evidence away and grabbed his coat, thankful that his day was over and he could leave knowing that they had another killer locked away.


	30. Walk the Line

Chapter 30.

** Walk the Line **

Ovidio walked out of the precinct to be meet by members of Los Dios. He nodded wearily to them. “ _Si?_ ” he asked.

“It looks bad that the buy was compromised. We are here to determine your loyalty,” a heavy set Hispanic man said. “Why were you arrested?”

Ovidio thought fast, grateful that the pretty detective had told him who had killed Officer Gonzalez. “They thought I killed the pig.”

“Did you?”

Ovidio smirked, slipping into the Iggy Zoo personality. “Kill the pig? Yeah.”

“Then why are you free?”

Ovidio smirked again. “I did it with a gun that a woman had thrown down. Managed to convince them that I wasn’t capable of murder and they pinned it on her.” He laughed. “Now she’s in jail and I’m walking free.”

The man raised his eyebrows and stared intently at Ovidio, trying to determine whether or not he was telling the truth. After a couple of minutes, he nodded. “Good. First rule. Never let the pigs catch you. I’ve been instructed to bring you to a meeting. Follow me.”

Ovidio nodded as he fell in behind the man.

\-----------------

Thirty minutes later, the group was walking into a seemingly abandoned warehouse. Ovidio looked around in suspicion. “What are we doing here?”

The leader, Tadeo, proceeded to a back room, so Ovidio followed. When he entered the room, it was all he could do not to let his jaw drop. It looked like a high tech communications center that rivaled that of the FBI. 

Tadeo noticed the shocked look on his face. “This is a high tech operation. That is why we are more successful than the other cartels.”

He sat down in front of a monitor and motioned for Ovidio to sit next to him. Ovidio watched as he made a few keystrokes and a video screen came to life, a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair was staring at them intently.

“Senor Montoya,” Tadeo said with respect. “This is our new recruit. Ignacio Sastro Zubizarreta. He goes by Iggy Zoo.”

“Welcome, Iggy Zoo. I am Javier Montoya. Know right now that you will never cross me. If you do, I will kill you and all your family.”

Ovidio nodded in respect. “Yes, sir. I promise that I will never doing anything to put myself in that position. What do you want me to do?”

Montoya stared at Ovidio, trying to read his soul. “I want you to follow a woman. She’s an FBI agent. I need to know what she is doing. She is trying to shut down the operation and I want her stopped, by any means necessary. Interact with her if you can.”

Ovidio felt his heart leap into his throat. “Is that wise, sir? I’m on the pig’s radar now.”

Montoya thought for a moment. “Go to her, her name is Corrine Reid. Tell her you want to give her information about us. But lead her falsely. Break her down and then dispose of her. I attempted to have her killed for her trouble, but she managed to live through that episode.”

Ovidio nodded. “Sir, if I may ask and you can tell me that it’s none of my business, but why are so you intent on killing her?”

Montoya’s face grew blank. “You are right; it is none of your business. You have your instructions, see to them.”

Ovidio nodded. “Yes sir.”

Tadeo nodded and turned off the monitors. “It is not wise to ask personal questions of our leader. Those who do seem to find themselves dead.”

Ovidio nodded again. “Understood. May I leave? I need to figure out how I’m going to gain the FBI agent’s trust.”

Tadeo nodded and Ovidio walked out, trying to figure out his next move.

\------------------------

Thousands of miles away, in a hillside mansion, Javier Montoya sat brooding. _Why did that insolent man have to ask that question? How dare he question me?_ He sat in his study, the memories of his life before his brother, Rafael, had died.

_A young Javier stepped off the airplane in Dallas, Texas. He looked around in wonder at the multitude of people surrounding him. His parents had not prepared him for the vastness of the place. His mother, Paloma, had insisted that he travel the United States, against his father’s wishes. His father, Maximiliano, wanted him to work in the family business, but he had no interest in drug running. His brother was the one suited for that. He had a natural grasp for what was needed._

_He walked out of the airport in the bright July sun, the heat striking him._ Huh, _he thought._ The weather is similar to home. _He made his way to the cabs, wanting to get to his hotel as soon as possible. He enjoyed the cab ride to the hotel; the cabby was friendly and informative. After settling in, he took the cabby’s advice and went to a local restaurant._

_Once in the restaurant, he sat down in a booth and admired the pretty waitress who was laughing at something that another customer said. She then turned and walked towards him. “Hi, honey. What can I getcha?” she asked._

_He looked at her nametag, which read Alexis, and smiled. “What do you recommend?”_

_“Today’s special is chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and green beans. Best steak this side of the Mississippi.”_

_He nodded, his heart falling when he noticed she was wearing a wedding ring. “I’ll have that, then.”_

_She quickly wrote that down on her order pad and looked at him. “Where ya from, hun? I know you ain’t from Texas.”_

_He smiled at her, pleased for some reason with her interest. “Columbia. My mother wishes me to travel the world before deciding what I want to so with my life, so here I am.”_

_She laughed and raised her eyebrows. “You can travel the world and you come to Dallas? Why?”_

_Javier thought quickly. “Because I heard the most beautiful women in the world were from Texas. Obviously, I was right.” He winked at her._

_Alexis blushed. “I’d better go get your order in, hun.” She quickly walked away from him._

_Javier smiled as she walked away, happy to be able to flirt with her. Over the next month, he went to the café every single day, to flirt with her. One day, out of curiosity he decided to ask her a personal question. “Alexis? I know that you are married. Why do you work? In my country, no married woman works. It’s up to her husband to provide for their family.”_

_Alexis smiled. “Oh, I don’t have to work. I just get bored easily when Harold is at work. You see, I didn’t want to get married. My parents arranged the marriage when I was just a baby. He’s a nice enough guy, but I’m not in love with him.”_

_Javier processed the information and decided that she was coming on to him. “In that case,” he said with his voice lowered. “Perhaps you would like to show me around Dallas?”_

_Alexis seemed to think about the idea and slowly nodded her head. “I’d like that.”_

Montoya thought back to the year that he had with Alexis. She was his soul mate. She told him that she was in love with him, but feared her parent’s reactions if she ran off with him. He told her repeatedly that he had enough money to take care of her and she would never have to be in a loveless marriage again. She had smiled sadly at that thought and told him that she wished she had to courage.

He spent months trying to convince her and finally she agreed. He remembered the night they were supposed to leave in vivid clarity.

_Javier waited patiently in his hotel room for Alexis to arrive. They had tickets to fly to France, a place she longed to visit. He was happy that he had convinced her to leave her unloving husband. When there was a knock on his hotel room door, he jumped up in anticipation. Smiling, he opened the door, to find a distraught Alexis standing there. She threw herself in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. “What’s wrong, mi amor?”_

_She drew back from him. “I can’t leave with you.”_

_His brows drew together. “Why not?”_

_She sniffed. “I’m pregnant.”_

_His eyebrow rose. “But we were careful!”_

_She nodded. “I know, but…” she trailed off._

_“But what, mi amor?”_

_“I slept with Harold. I had to. If I didn’t then he would have suspected something. He would have taken me away from you!” she cried._

_He held her in his arms, whispering soothing words in her ear. “Mi amor, I don’t care. I am willing to raise another man’s child. I love you with all my soul. You are my soul mate.”_

_His words just made her cry even harder. “I wish I could do that, but I can’t take a child away from him. He doesn’t deserve that. He’s a good man. I’m sorry, Javier. But I’m going to go back to Harold and try to be a good wife.” She walked out of his arms and his life at that moment. Something he had never forgotten._

Javier relived the memory, feeling the familiar pain of the rejection. After she had left, he had gotten a phone call from his father, stating that Rafael had been killed by a rival cartel and it was on his shoulders to take over the business. Feeling hurt and rejected, he did just that thing, knowing that somewhere a child was growing up. A child who was responsible for breaking his heart into a million pieces. A child who didn’t know he existed. A child whom he hated with every fiber of his being. A child who grew into a woman named Corrine Reid.


	31. With arms wide open

Chapter 31.

** With Arms Wide Open **

Flack watched Cory as she stormed out of the building after her confrontation with Angell. He shook his head, thanking the powers that be that Lindsay was less volatile than her. If just by a thought, Lindsay appeared at his side. “Hey, Don. What’s up with Cory? She looks pissed.”

Flack shrugged. “Her and Angell just butted heads. I think she’s going to blow off some steam. How are you doing? I know you haven’t been feeling well, lately. At least you’re not pregnant.”

Lindsay felt white hot pain encompass her heart, but she tried not to let that show. “I feel much better, thanks. Oh, well. I’ve got paperwork to do.” She stood on tiptoes to kiss him lightly on the cheek. “I’ll see you at home.” Lindsay turned from him, careful to keep her expression neutral.

She walked into her office, trying to stop the tears from flowing, to the notice of Stella, who immediately pulled her off into the bathroom. “Okay. What’s wrong?”

“Don doesn’t want kids. He said that he hoped that I wasn’t pregnant,” she cried. 

Stella drew Lindsay into a hug, puzzling over what the younger woman had just said. “Have you told him? Even that you suspected?” Lindsay shook her head and Stella sighed. “Linds. You need to tell him. I know that you think it’s too early for kids, but I think that after the initial shock, Don will be happy.”

Lindsay raised her watery eyes to Stella’s, drawing strength from her. “Really?”

Stella smiled. “Yes. I think so. So wash your face, and start planning on how you’re going to tell him!”

Lindsay nodded and looked down at her paperwork. “Alright. I’ll tell him tonight. I just hope your right, Stel. I don’t want to fight with him over this.”

Stella just smiled, trying not to fume internally over the careless words that Don had said. She was about to say more when her pager went off. “Well, I guess that’s my signal to go. I’ll see you later, Linds.”

Lindsay nodded and began to plan. She was planning dinner when her pager went off. Looking down she saw that she needed to go to a scene. With a sigh, she grabbed her kit and made her way into the hall, where Mac was waiting for her. “What do we have?”

Mac looked at her, noticing the stress lines around her eyes. “DB on fourth. You okay?”

Lindsay smiled wanly. “Yeah. Just a little tired. Let’s go.”

\---------------------------

When they got to the scene, Lindsay had forced the impending dinner with Flack to the back of her mind. She grabbed her kit and walked into the building, which reeked of decomp. Scrunching her nose and feeling her stomach lurch in protest, she walked to where the uniforms were standing, with their handkerchiefs over their noses. “What do we have?”

One of the uniforms looked at her, his face tinged with green. “Dead guy, decomposed pretty badly. Civilian called it in when they walked by the building and smelled him.”

_Great. Just what I need. Badly decomposed bodies. Why did I sign up for this again?_ Lindsay sighed again, but other than that remained professional. She nodded to the uniform and walked into the room. Fighting off the urge to throw up, she looked around the room. It was bare except for the dead body in the middle of the room. 

She felt Mac walk up behind her. “Well,” he said. “At least there won’t be a lot to process. Who’s the ME today?”

“Ah. The stench of decomp just wakes me up in the morning,” Marty said behind him. “Got to love my job,” he continued sarcastically.

Lindsay laughed. “Hey, Marty. Can you give us a cause of death?”

Marty looked at her. “I can try, but I’m going to have to pop him first, otherwise he could explode from all the built up gas inside of him.” He looked down at the body. “I’d say, given the amount of bloating, he’s been here at least five days.”

Lindsay looked away as Marty created a hole in the body to let the gas escape. As the body regained normal proportions, he shook his head. “I don’t see any obvious signs of death, but with this level of decomp, I’m going to have to get him back to the morgue to be certain.”

Both Lindsay and Mac nodded. They looked at each other and quickly began to process the scene, so they could get away from the stench.

\------------------------

Several hours later, Lindsay felt like she had scrubbed her skin off. Even with the help of lemon juice, she could still smell the lingering stench of the crime scene. Finally, deciding that she couldn’t do anything else, she stepped out of the shower and got dressed in a new pair of slacks and blouse. Pulling her hair back into a pony tail, she walked back into the lab, to process all the trace that they had found. There wasn’t much. They had not found any fibers, no footprints and only a handful of finger prints. 

She was working on the fingerprints when Marty walked in. “Here’s the fingerprints off the dead guy. I still haven’t found any obvious wounds, so I’m running a tox screen right now. Maybe that will give us something.”

“Thanks, Marty. I’ll get to work on it.”

Marty looked at her. “Are you okay, Lindsay? You seem a little tired lately.”

She smiled softly. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just haven’t been sleeping much.”

Marty winked at her. “Tell Flack to let you get some rest!”

Lindsay just laughed as she scanned the fingerprints into AFIS. “Don’t you have a tox screen to see to?”

“Fine. I can take a hint. Seriously, if you need anything, just let me know.”

“I will.” She turned as the computer beeped. “Huh. Our dead guy is a missing person. Name of Alvin Byron. He’s from Oak Park, Illinois. Family reported him missing about three years ago. Says here that he was in the advance stage of Alzheimer’s.” She turned and looked at Marty, who walked over to the computer. “Maybe this wasn’t a murder?”

Marty just shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, but I’ll get on it.” He shot her another smile and walked out of the lab. Lindsay sighed as she prepared to call the Oak Park PD, so they could notify the family.

\-------------------------------

Later that night, when she had gotten home, Lindsay took another shower. She dressed carefully and planned out dinner. She put together a salad and put some potatoes in the oven to bake. Then she pulled the steaks out of the refrigerator to thaw, while they were cooking.

She paced nervously in the kitchen, trying to figure out how she was going to tell Don that she was pregnant. His words from that morning kept repeating themselves back in her head. _At least you’re not pregnant._ “Oh, Don…” she murmured to herself.

She jumped when she heard his key in the lock. Trying to calm herself by taking deep breathes; she put on a brave face, knowing that she had to hide her emotions temporarily. She smiled as he walked into the kitchen.

“Hey, sweetheart. How was work?” he asked as he grabbed her in a bear hug.

She smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “Depressing,” she answered. “I was called to a scene, severally decomposing body. Turns out the DB was a missing man from Illinois, who had Alzheimer’s. He died of exposure. That’s just…depressing.”

Flack looked down at her, seeing multiple emotions crossing her face. Instinct told him that wasn’t the only thing wrong, but he let it slide for the time being. “I’m sorry.”

Lindsay sighed. “Thanks. Anyway, I cooked dinner. It should be ready in about half an hour if you want to unwind a bit.”

Flack nodded. “Yeah. I think I’ll go take a shower. I had to chase a subject through a trash filled alleyway. I know I must reek of garbage.”

Lindsay laughed. “Better garbage than the smell of decomp. I just got it off my skin!”

Flack walked towards the bathroom, laughing.

A few hours later, after the leisurely dinner, Flack decided to find out what was really wrong. “What’s wrong, Linds? I know that it’s not just the case that is getting to you.”

Lindsay sighed, knowing that she couldn’t put it off any longer. “When you said this morning that you were happy that I wasn’t pregnant, what did you mean? Do you not want kids?”

Flack looked at her, surprise in his eyes. “No. I want kids. I’m just not sure that I’m ready for them. I mean, with our jobs…and I don’t think I’ll be a good dad.”

Lindsay looked at him, sorrow filling her heart. “We’ll always have the same jobs, Don. We are not going to change as people.”

He nodded. “I know. It’s just—we’ve both been terrorized on the job. Hell, I was blown up. I can’t imagine bringing a child into the equation right now.”

Lindsay stood up and walked into the living room. Don followed her. With tears shining in her eyes, she looked at him. “Well, start imagining. I’m pregnant.” She watched his face carefully and saw that shock that encompassed him.

“But…but…” he stammered. “How?”

Lindsay felt her temper break. “Do I really have to explain the birds and the bees to you, Don? Come on.”

Flack shook his head at the vehemence in her voice. “That’s not what I meant! I mean, we were careful.”

“Yeah, we were, but shit happens Don,” she replied scathingly as she walked out of the room.

Flack stared that the place she had stood. _I’m going to be a dad. I’m going to be a dad. I’m going to be a dad!_ He shook his head clear and proceeded to the bedroom, regret filling his heart as he noticed her crying silently on the bed. “Linds? Sweetheart? Please don’t cry.”

“Why not?” she asked between sobs. “You aren’t happy. This will only drive us apart.”

Flack knelt in front of her. “I’ll admit that I didn’t handle this very well, but…we’re going to have baby?” he asked, wonder filling his voice.

Lindsay looked up at him and noticed that the shock had been replaced by an incredulous expression. Not trusting herself to speak, she just nodded her head.

Flack wrapped her in his arms and whispered into her ear, “We’re going to have a baby. We created life?” He felt her nod, as joy replaced the regret in his heart.


	32. Thanksgiving

Chapter 32.

** Thanksgiving **

Thanksgiving Day dawned bright and cold, and way too early for Cory’s taste. She grumbled when Danny woke her up at seven a.m. She glared at Danny when she noticed the time. “Messer,” she growled. “It’s seven. I don’t have to work today. Why the hell are you waking me up? That’s why I prepared most of the food last night! So I could sleep in late!”

Danny grinned at her; he had expected her reaction. “It’s your first Thanksgiving in New York. I’m taking you to the parade.”

Cory looked at him. “Huh?”

Danny raised his eyebrows. “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Ring any bells?”

Cory shook her head. “Sorry. Still asleep here.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Come on. Get up, get dressed and we’ll go find a good spot to see the floats.”

Cory laughed. “Why are you acting like you were just given the best Christmas present?”

Danny smirked. “It’s very rare that I get to show someone the best that New York has to offer. It’s a nice change.”

Cory just shook her head as she got up. “I’m going to shower. Remember, lunch is at two, so we should be done in time for the game.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Yes, mom,” he replied sarcastically.

Cory just stuck her tongue out at him. “So? You rooting for my boys today? They are playing the Jets.”

Danny smirked. “For you…I’ll make an exception. Plus, not a fan of the Jets. I hope your boys run ‘em over.”

Cory laughed as she closed the bathroom door.

Thirty minutes later, she was trying to comb out her hair when she heard Danny’s phone ring. _Damn. I knew that some things were too good to be true,_ she thought as Danny walked in with an apologetic look on his face. “Ya gotta go in, don’t you?” she asked.

Danny shrugged. “Yeah. I’m sorry.”

Cory gave him a quick kiss. “Don’t be sorry for your job, _chere._ I understand.”

“I’ll try to be back for lunch, _bella._ ”

“I know. I’ll keep it warm for you.”

\---------------

Hawkes woke up around seven and looked down at the sleeping woman in his arms. He smiled softly, thanking the heavens that Cory had moved to New York and he had met Lydia. Softly he stroked her arm, just enjoying being with her.

Lydia awoke at his soft touch and smiled at him. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, sweetheart. What time do we need to be at Cory’s?”

“She’s serving lunch at two, so one or one-thirty?”

“Good,” Hawkes said as he wrapped her in a hug, both of them enjoying the peaceful time alone. Both had just started to drift back off to sleep when the phone rang.

Lydia opened her eyes, sleepily. “Is that mine or yours?”

Hawkes sighed. “Mine,” he said as he picked up the offending piece of equipment. “Hawkes? On my way.” He looked down at Lydia. “Lyd, I’m sorry. I gotta go in.”

She looked at him, understanding in her eyes, as she gave him a light kiss. “Shel? I understand. It’s the job. I’ll see you later, okay?”

Hawkes smiled as he got out of bed to get ready. _Damn, why did I have to get called in?_

\---------------

Flack and Lindsay were still in bed, him softly stroking her stomach as she slept, when the phone rang. Sighing in regret as he recognized the number, he picked it up. “Flack.” He paused for a moment as the voice on the other line gave him the details. “On my way.”

He sighed as he hung up the phone and looked down at Lindsay. “Linds? Sweetheart? Wake up,” he said softly.

She murmured drowsily, “What’s the matter?”

“I gotta go in. DB on the subway.”

Lindsay opened her eyes and smiled softly. “I’m sorry, hun. Hopefully, you’ll be back by the time lunch is ready.”

Flack smiled, thinking how lucky he was that she understood the job. “I hope. Go ahead and go over to Cory and Danny’s. I’m pretty sure that Danny, Mac and Hawkes got called in as well. I still don’t know how all you girls managed to not be on call today!”

Lindsay laughed. “Good planning, hun. We put in for it months ago. Although, we are on call for Christmas.”

Flack leaned over and gave her a soft kiss and he got out of bed. “Go back to sleep. See you later. I love you.”

“Love you, too,” Lindsay murmured as she closed her eyes in sleepiness.

\---------------

Mac and Stella had made it back to his apartment around five a.m. They had both been working on the case of a dead homeless man, which turned out to have been part of a bizarre suicide pact. Stella was still confused on the matter. “Mac? Why would the homeless make a suicide pact?”

Mac just shook his head. “I don’t know, Stel.” She smiled as he pulled her too him, caressing her lips lightly.

Stella smiled as she pulled slightly back. “Keep that thought. I still reek of decomp and I really need a shower.”

Mac nodded as she walked towards the bathroom. “Lemon juice is in the fridge if you want,” he called to her.

Stella turned around and winked. “Thanks.” She turned and made a detour to the kitchen, taking the bottle of lemon juice out of the fridge.

Mac took off his suit jacket as he grabbed two glasses and opened a bottle of wine. He carried the bottle and glasses into the bedroom and lit some candles to set the mood. Thirty minutes later, he looked up to see Stella standing in the doorway, dressed in a lacy nightgown. His eyes darkened in lust as he appraised her body. Silently he poured the wine and offered her a glass.

“Thanks. I finally feel human again. I hate decomp!” she stated as she accepted the glass and took a sip. Smiling, she sat down on the bed next to him. “At least we’ll get to sleep in a little. Cory said she wasn’t serving lunch until two. Something about wanting it later so she could sleep in, but early enough to watch the game.” She shook her head. “I just don’t get her obsession with football.”

Mac laughed. “Stel, she’s from Texas. Football is practically a religion down there.”

“How do you know that?”

He shrugged. “I was stationed down there briefly after boot camp.” He set his glass down on the table as he stood. “I’m going to grab a shower.” 

Stella smiled as she lay down on the bed. “Okay.” She closed her eyes, listening to the sound of the water as it lulled her to sleep.

Fifteen minutes later, Mac walked out of the bathroom to find Stella sleeping peacefully on top of the covers. He smiled softly, love filling his eyes as he looked at her. He gently moved over to her and began to slip the covers from under her.

Stella felt the small movement and opened her sleep filled eyes. “Hey. I fell asleep didn’t I?”

Mac smiled down at her. “Yeah, but it’s okay.”

Stella smiled, seeing the smoldering desire shining in his eyes. Quickly she reached up and pulled him down for a kiss, which quickly progressed to something more intimate. She moaned softly as she felt his hands roam over her body.

Mac marveled at the softness of her skin as he undressed them both. He had just captured her lips again, when they both heard the phone ring.

Both groaned in their frustration. Mac sighed in resignation as he answered it abruptly. “Taylor.”

It was Stella’s turn to sigh as he got out of the bed and began to get dressed again. She watched as he ended the call and looked at her with sorrow. “DB on the subway,” he practically growled in frustration.

Stella smiled. “It’s the nature of the job, Mac. Both of us know that. Go. Process the scene and try to make it to lunch.”

Mac laughed. “I will,” he said as he gave her a small kiss, overcome by the urge to tell her that he loved her, but not sure if the time was right. He glanced at her one last time as he walked out of the bedroom.

Stella stared at the empty room, feeling the frustration filling her body as she tried to go back to sleep.

\---------------

Cory looked around the apartment after Danny had left, sadness filling her heart. She had prepared everything last night, the only cooking she had left to do was to prepare the salad. She slipped into a comfortable pair of sweats and sat down at her computer, intending on trying to figure Montoya out. She knew that she had been having dreams, but the fragments of the dream were dancing on the edge of her consciousness. 

Opening up the laptop, she stared at the screen for five minutes before giving up. Sighing, she made herself a cup of hot chocolate and decided to walk out on the balcony attached to the dining room. She stared over Central Park, trying to sort her thoughts into some semblance of normality, when she realized that she had not even begun to make plans for the wedding. 

Her mind began to race as she remembered, with remorse, all of the planning that she had done for her first wedding. Silently a tear began to fall down her cheek, as she remembered the wedding gown that she still had in storage. “Damn. This is going to be hard,” she said out loud, the wind whipping the words away from her. She stared down into the now cold drink as her mind took her on a pain filled trip down memory lane.

Finally, when she was so cold that her teeth wouldn’t stop chattering, she walked back inside and sat back down at the computer. The iciness of the November air had help to clear her mind and she began to make plans.

She didn’t realize how much time had passed, until the buzzer rang. Glancing at the clock, she was stunned to see that it was one and quickly went to buzzer. “Yes?”

_“It’s Lindsay. Can you buzz me up! It’s freezing out here and it just started to snow!”_

Cory laughed as she buzzed her in and waited for her to arrive at the door. “Hey. It’s snowing?”

Lindsay removed her coat. “Yeah. Dear Lord it’s cold out there!”

Cory raised her eyebrows. “Linds? I hate to break it to you, but you’re from Montana. Isn’t it really cold there during the winter?”

Lindsay laughed as she hung her coat up in the closet. “Yup. Doesn’t mean that I liked it any more there.” Lindsay looked at her. “How come you’re in sweats?”

Cory looked down at her attire and grimaced. “Let’s just say that I lost track of time.” At Lindsay’s confused looked, she decided to give her a break. “I’ve been making plans for the wedding.”

“Oh. How is that going?”

Cory laughed softly. “Let’s just say it’s a good thing that I’ve planned a couple of weddings before or I would be so screwed.”

Lindsay giggled. “Don’t you know it! Listen, why don’t you go get dressed. Is there anything that I can do?”

Cory smiled. “Unless you want to make the salad, nope. Everything else is ready.”

Lindsay shooed her towards the bedroom and walked into the kitchen.

Thirty minutes later, the rest of the women were there. Cory grabbed the wine and began to pour everyone a glass, as they hung out in the kitchen, Cory putting the final touches on everything. 

Lindsay saw that Cory was pouring her wine and knew that she would not be able to drink it. She sighed, knowing that Don had wanted to tell everyone together, but she didn’t see a way out of the situation. She shook her head at Cory when she tried to hand her the glass. “None for me, but thanks.”

Cory raised her eyebrows. “You pregnant or something?” she asked jokingly. Lindsay bit her lip and Cory’s eyes opened wide. “Oh my God. You’re pregnant!”

Lindsay nodded as Cory and Lydia squealed in delight. Lydia hugged her, since Cory was had her hands full with a baking dish of cornbread. “Does Don know?” Lydia asked.

“Yeah. I told him a couple of days ago.”

Stella looked at her. “How’d it go?”

Lindsay drew in a breath. “Needless to say, he was a little shocked. But he’s happy. So am I.”

Stella smiled. “See, I told you that it would turn out okay.”

Cory didn’t miss the exchange. “Hey! I thought we were friends! Stella knows, but you didn’t tell me? I’m crushed,” she said with a mock pout.

Lindsay just rolled her eyes. “Stella’s the one that put it together after I kept puking in the bathroom.”

Cory nodded. “So, when are you due?”

“July fourth, so no June wedding for you! You can’t get married until after then, because I don’t want to look like a whale in your wedding photos.”

“No problem,” Cory responded. “I’ve tried to do the June wedding and look where it got me. I was thinking more along the lines of October,” she said, her tone holding a bit of melancholy in it at the memories that had surfaced that morning.

All the women picked up on the tone and quickly changed the subject to make sure that she didn’t get lost in the memories. Cory just nodded and let them help her feel better.

Fifteen minutes later, the timer had buzzed on the oven, signaling that the cornbread and the turkey was ready. “Well, I guess we should eat. Although, it doesn’t feel right without the guys here.”

The rest nodded their agreement, as they helped to load up the table with the food. Quietly, they sat down and Cory was just about to say grace when she heard the door open. She jumped up from the table and walked into the living room to find Danny, Mac, Flack and Hawkes walking in the door.

“Damn. You’ve got great timing Messer. We were just about to start without you. Close the case already?”

Flack was the one that answered. “Ended up being a suicide. Guy’s wife had just left him, taking their kids, after he had been laid off.”

“Ouch,” Lindsay said from behind Cory. “Welcome to the most depressing time of year.”

Cory just shook her head, knowing that the team was going to see an increase in the number of suicide calls that they received. “Why don’t you guys go and wash up. We can wait a few minutes to dig in.”

The guys did just that and soon all were eating the typical Thanksgiving dinner. 

After they were done, Cory looked around. “Anyone save any room for dessert?” She was met by a bunch of groans. “Fine, then. Guys you know the drill. I cooked, therefore I don’t clean. But don’t feel bad, there’s not much to clean up. Just the dishes that we ate on, which do not—I repeat, do not—go in the dishwasher.”

“Aye, aye, Captain!” Danny exclaimed with a smart salute to her as they gathered up the dishes to take to the kitchen.

Stella smiled. “Cory, I so wish that I could get that response out of the guys.”

Cory laughed. “What can I say? I’m good. Plus, they know if they don’t, I won’t cook.”

Hawkes walked into the kitchen to find that Flack and Danny were arguing over who was going to wash the dishes. He just shook his head and shared a glance with Mac. “Mac? How about I wash, you dry and we let the wonder twins put away all the food?” Mac nodded his agreement and Hawkes began fill the sink with hot water. 

Danny and Flack looked at Hawkes with gratitude. “Thanks, Sheldon,” Flack said sincerely. “I really didn’t want to wash dishes again.”

“Not a problem. Tell me something. Is Lindsay okay? She wasn’t drinking with the meal,” Hawkes asked, trying to get some confirmation on his suspicions.

Flack grinned. “She’s fine.” He paused for a more dramatic effect. “We’re pregnant.”

Hawkes and Mac both smiled knowingly, while Danny almost dropped the casserole dish he was holding. “She’s pregnant? There’s going to be a little Flack running around soon?” He shuddered dramatically, while Mac tried to stifle a laugh.

“Grow up, Messer,” Flack retorted. “At least they won’t be your spawn. I shudder to think about little Messer juniors running around.”

Danny looked at Mac and Hawkes, trying to get some support. “Come on guys. Help me out here!”

Hawkes looked at him. “Not me, Messer. I’ve had my suspicions for a couple of weeks now.”

Mac smiled too. “This wasn’t news to me.”

Danny sighed dramatically. “Why am I the last person to know anything around here?”

Flack, sensing Danny’s weakness, shook his head. “See Messer. That’s why you’re not a homicide cop. No attention to detail.”

Danny finally admitted defeat and spent the rest of the time, trying to ignore the barbs that the guys were sending his way. When they were finally done, they walked back to the living room, just as the game was starting.


	33. Land of Confusion

Chapter 33.

** Land ** ** of Confusion **

Danny watched Cory, after everyone had left. “ _Bella?_ You okay?”

Cory smiled at him. “Yeah. I relived some old memories this morning.” She turned, knowing that she needed to talk to him about his. “Do me a favor? Make some hot chocolate and meet me on the balcony.”

Danny raised his eyebrows, knowing that she hated the cold, but realizing that by going onto the balcony, it made it easier for her to talk. “Alright.” He busied himself, making the drink and grabbed a big flannel blanket out of the closet. 

By the time that he was done, Cory was back in the living room, dressed in a sweat suit. She grabbed her hat, jacket and scarf. Danny handed her the hot chocolate and grabbed his hat, jacket and gloves.

Danny held the door open for her. Once outside, he settled on the lounger and pulled Cory down beside him. Quickly he wrapped the blanket around them. “What’s up?” he asked her quietly.

Cory sipped the hot chocolate before deciding to answer. “I realized something today,” she said just as quietly.

Danny detected the hint of fear in her voice and wrapped his arms around her. “What?”

Cory smiled wryly. “I’m terrified of getting married.” She stopped. “Okay. Not of getting married, but having a marriage ceremony. What if Ortiz comes after me again?” 

Danny held her in his arms. _God, she’s shaking like a leaf._ Danny grabbed her mug and quickly set it on the ground beside his. “ _Bella._ I can’t guarantee that Ortiz won’t try anything, but I can guarantee that I will be careful and on the lookout for something. We at least know about the threat.”

Cory sniffed. “I know, but I still have this really bad feeling.” She looked into Danny’s blue eyes, immediately feeling a little safer. “Will you just hold me for a bit?”

Danny smiled as he lightly kissed her forehead, tightening his hold on her. He looked up at the sky, trying to order his thoughts. He knew that she was scared, and didn’t blame her, but didn’t want her to slip back into her shell. He smiled as he felt her snuggle against him, automatically seeking his warmth. Once he was sure she was fast asleep, he picked her up and carried her to bed.

\---------------

_Cory walked along the street, towards the subway. She deftly moved around the small snowdrift that had built up on sidewalk. Just as she got to the entrance to the subway, she noticed the panicked people running up the stairs. “What’s going on?” she asked an older man who was gasping for breath._

_“Bomb,” he managed._

_Cory felt a ball of lead drop into her stomach. “Alright! Everyone clear this area, NOW!” she screamed. “FBI! Everyone clear the area!” She watched as people began to run away from the street. Nodding to herself, she pulled out her cell phone can called it in._

_She had just hung up the phone when she saw the little girl, about two, standing on the top of the stairs. She began to run towards her as the ground began to shake underneath her feet. Just as she reached the girl, she saw the fireball traveling up the stairs._

_Her instincts kicked in and she grabbed the girl, pulling her down on the ground with her, covering her small body with her own. She felt the heat bearing down on her and smelt the acrid smell of burning hair. After what felt like an eternity she got up gingerly. She knelt down and checked the girl for injuries._

_“My baby! Where’s my baby?!” a panicked female voice yelled._

_Cory looked up and saw the woman, who was looking for a child. She looked down at the little girl, wondering if the woman was the girl’s mother. The little girl looked up at her and Cory was struck by a sense of familiarity._

_“Oh! Thank you! You found my baby,” the woman’s voice addressed Cory._

_Cory looked at the woman, realizing that the woman looked exactly like her mother. “She’s your daughter?”_

_“Yes. My only one, at least for now,” the woman said patting her extended belly. “Her name is Corrine and I’m Alexis. How can I thank you for saving her?”_

_Cory just nodded her head in shock. “Just part of the job, ma’am,” she said, thankful for the screeching of sirens pulling up._

Cory awoke with a start, pulling out of Danny’s arms. She shook her head in confusion, the images from the dream still vivid in her mind. She felt Danny stir a little behind her, and quickly got out of bed so she did not wake him up.

Walking into the living room, she grabbed the blanket off the couch and wrapped it around herself. Just as she sat down, she felt the temperature in the room drop. She looked up, expecting only to see Armando, but CC was with him as well. 

CC smiled at her. “Congratulations on your engagement.”

Cory raised her eyebrows. “Thanks, but why are you here? Is this about the dream that I just had?”

CC nodded slightly, but Armando was the one who answered. “Yes and no,” he said. “We are here to give you a slight warning. Things are about to get interesting.”

Cory nodded in her understanding. “So what about my dream? Why did I dream that I was the little girl?”

CC sighed at this. “I can’t tell you that. All I can tell you is ask your mom about Alejandro.”

Cory shook her head, not sure if she had heard her aunt correctly. “Who’s that?”

CC shook her head. “Just ask her about Alejandro,” she said as she and Armando disappeared.

Cory shook her head in disbelief as she looked at the clock. The dial read four-fifteen a.m. _Well, I guess I’m not getting any more sleep tonight._

She sighed as she booted up her computer. She pulled up her email and noticed an email from Cruz. As she read it, she realized that he wanted a meeting with her at nine this morning. She quickly typed her reply and started to make plans.

\---------------

When Danny awoke, he noticed that Cory’s side of the bed was empty and the sheets were cool. Confused, he got up and walked into the living room, noticing that it was a little past eight. He saw a note taped to the fridge.

_“Danny,_

_I had to go to work. I’ll be back ASAP. I love, you._

_Cory”_

Sighing, he made himself some coffee and got ready for his shift.

When he walked into the crime lab, he noticed that it was very busy. As he was walking to his office, he heard Mac call his name. He turned around to wait for him to catch up with him. “What’s up, Mac?”

Mac shook his head. “DB at Saks. It’s not pretty. Stella is waiting for you at the car.”

“Alright.” Danny shook his head as he walked quickly to his office to grab his kit. When he got to the car, he smiled as he saw Stella waiting somewhat impatiently.

“Danny? What took you so long?”

“I had to grab my kit.”

When they got to the crime scene, Stella looked on in regret. “You know. I could be here today. I could be one of the nameless shoppers looking for a bargain.”

Danny laughed. “Right, Stel. I know that you hate crowds when it comes to shopping. I’d bet that you are already done Christmas shopping for everyone. Hell, the presents are probably wrapped!”

Stella laughed. “You’re almost right. I still haven’t gotten anything for Mac. I have no clue what to get him.” She turned towards the body of the woman. “Is it me or does she look like she was trampled?”

Danny took her hint and looked down at the body. “Yeah, it does. So what time did the store open?”

Stella answered instantly, “Seven.”

Danny shook his head as he began to look for trace around the body. “Crazy women and shopping,” he muttered under his breath. He noticed a small syringe on the floor; it had rolled underneath the display at the front of the store. He picked it up and quickly bagged it. “Hey, Stella! Look what I found,” he called as he held up the evidence baggy.

Stella looked at it. “Well, looks like an accidental death can be ruled out.”

Danny shrugged. “We’ll know more when…” he trailed off as he saw Marty walk up. “When Marty get here.”

Marty smiled. “Looking for me?”

Stella smiled at him. “Just give me a COD on the vic, Marty.”

Marty quickly processed the body. “Preliminary, I saw that she was crushed to death. But I’ll have to get her back to the morgue and do an autopsy to be sure,” he said as he began to place her in a body bag.

Stella looked around. “The store is getting us their surveillance footage, so I guess we’re done here for now.”

Danny looked up and nodded. “Let’s get back to the lab.”

\---------------

Meanwhile, across town, Cory was having a covert meeting with Cruz. She watched as he made his way towards her, randomly. “Cruz,” she muttered softly. “What do you have for me?”

Ovidio looked around, making sure that he wasn’t being spied upon. “Met with Montoya.”

Cory tried to contain her surprise. “He’s in New York?”

Ovidio shook his head. “No. They have a high tech communications center on the docks. It rivals ours. He wants me to be an informant for you. But pass you bad information. I don’t like this, Agent Reid. He knew exactly who you were. He wants me to kill you.”

Cory shrugged. “That’s not a big surprise, but I do want to know why he wants me dead.”

Ovidio shrugged. “He wouldn’t tell me. What should I do?”

Cory drew in a breath. “For now, play his game. Give me false info. He won’t give you too much bad info, especially if I’m supposed to believe you, so we’ll take if from there.”

Ovidio nodded. “Okay. I should go.”

Cory bit her lip as she watched him walk away, still confused from all the information that she had gotten that morning. Glancing at her phone, she knew that her mother would be awake. Quickly she dialed the number.

_“Hello?”_

“Hey, Mom. It’s Cory.”

_“Good morning, sweetheart. How was your Thanksgiving?”_

Cory smiled. “It was good. Listen, I had a really strange dream last night. I need to ask you a question.”

_“Shoot.”_

“Who’s Alejandro?”

Fifteen hundred miles away, Alexis felt her heart clench at the mention of that name. _“I’m sorry, sweetheart. What was that?”_ she temporized.

Cory recognized that her mother was trying to evade the question. “Don’t try to distract me, Mom. Who is Alejandro?” Cory heard her mother sigh.

_“Who told you about him, dear?”_

“That’s not important, Mom. Please, just tell me the truth.” Cory leaned against the wall of the alley; her gut telling her she was not going to like the answer.

_“He’s the man that I had an affair with, sweetheart.”_

“You had an affair!” Cory yelled into the phone. “Why in the hell would you sleep around on the man you’re in love with!”

_“Cory, please listen to me. I didn’t get the choice on whom I was to marry. Your grandparents arranged my marriage to Harold when I was six months old.”_

“But you and Daddy were in love. I saw that.”

_“By the time you were old enough, yes, I had fallen in love with your father.”_

Cory stared down at the ground in shock. “What happened?”

Alexis sighed again. _“When we got married, we were essentially strangers. I hated just sitting around the house every day, so I went to work in a diner. That’s were I met Alejandro. He had just arrived in town and we flirted.”_

Cory felt her anger rising. “So you just decided, hey, let’s sleep with the first guy that flirts with you?”

Alexis felt the sting of Cory’s anger and tried to remain calm. _“No. Nothing happened for about a month. Then, I fell in love with him.”_

Cory fought down the urge to hang up on her mother, something telling her that she needed to hear the entire story. “Go on,” she said in a clipped tone.

_“He was in town for a year. He had finally convinced me to leave Harold and run away to Paris with him, but then…”_ she trailed off.

“What?”

_“I got pregnant with you. I told him that I couldn’t leave Harold. That he was too kind of a man for me to keep a child away from him. And I broke it off. I cried for three months after he had left.”_

Cory felt the energy sap out of her body. “Whose daughter am I, Mom?” she asked in trepidation.

_“I’m pretty sure that you are Harold’s daughter. I never had unprotected sex with Alejandro. That’s why I couldn’t leave with him.”_

Something inside of Cory snapped at that moment. “I’m sorry. I can’t deal with this. I gotta go,” she said as she hung up the call, leaning back against the wall and fighting off the tears of confusion.

Alexis listened to the dial tone in her hear, knowing that her oldest daughter was extremely angry at her. _She has the right to be angry with me. But, damn it! I’m not going to apologize for my actions. I told her the truth!_ She carefully put the phone down; knowing that while she had told her the truth, she hadn’t told her the whole truth.


	34. It's a mad, mad world

Chapter 34.

** It’s a Mad, Mad World **

When Danny and Stella got back to the lab, they began to sift through the multitude of evidence that they had. Marty sent up the victims clothes and Stella was processing them.

“Good Lord,” she muttered as she pulled the forty-eighth hair from the victim’s jacket. “How much hair is on this?” She kept muttering under her breath as she continued to pull the fibers off. She was so intent on her work that she didn’t hear Mac walk in.

“Hey, Stel,” he said. “How’s it going?”

Stella’s head shot up in surprise as she shot a warm smile to Mac. “I haven’t seen so much hair on a vic’s clothes in forever. I’ve pulled almost fifty hairs off the jacket alone.”

“Human hair?”

Stella shook her head. “I think the majority of it is, but I’m sure that there are some animal hairs as well. I need to get Kendall to run them.”

Mac smiled at Stella, loving the way her face lit up when she was investigating. “In that case, this should help. Marty sent up her fingerprints and I had Adam run them for you. Your vic goes by the name of Pamela Shelton. Married to Dr. Reginald Shelton. He’s an anesthesiologist at Trinity.”

Stella looked up and saw the gleam in Mac’s eyes that always made her shiver. “Thanks. Is Angell bringing him in?”

Mac nodded. “Yeah. He was at the hospital in surgery. She has to wait until he gets out. We still on for dinner tonight?”

Stella smiled softly. “Of course. What do you feel like tonight?”

“Thai. Definitely Thai food.”

Stella nodded as her beeper went off. “Marty’s got some results. See you at seven, Mac.”

Mac gave her a secret smile as he turned to leave.

Stella and Danny arrived in the morgue at the same time. Stella smiled at Marty. “Give me good news,” she asked him.

Marty smiled at her. “I can definitely tell you that this was not an accident.” He turned the victim’s neck to the side. “See that puncture wound? She was injected with something that immobilized her. Resulting in her falling to the ground. The actual COD is crush asphyxiation. She was trampled to death.”

Stella raised her eyebrows. “Wow. Do you know what was injected into her?”

Marty shook his head. “Not until the tox screen gets back,” he said with regret.

Danny smiled. “I’ve got that answer for you. The syringe contained traces of Vercuronium Bromide.”

Marty looked up in surprise. “That’s a non depolarising neuromuscular blocking agent.” Marty looked at the blank look on both of their faces. “A muscle relaxant used during general anesthesia. It becomes effective in about ninety seconds.”

Stella felt a light go on in her head. “Thanks, Marty,” she said as she turned to walk out of the room. Danny quickly followed her.

“Stel? That make sense to you?”

Stella smiled. “Our vic is married to an anesthesiologist. The category is murders. For five hundred, the answer is the most likely suspect.”

Danny smiled. “What is the so called loving husband?” Danny replied cheekily. “We bringing him in?”

Stella nodded. “Angell is just waiting for him to get out of surgery.”

Danny grinned as they made their way back to the lab, eager to gather more evidence to put the man away.

\---------------

Cory stood in the alleyway for fifteen minutes after she hung up with Alexis. She was reeling from the revelation that her mother had an affair. Feeling betrayed, she walked out of the alley and down the street, not paying attention to her surroundings.

As she walked up the street, she felt someone brush into her and felt her purse slip off of her shoulder. Quickly looking back, she noticed a teenager walking away with her purse. _You’ve got to be kidding me! Can this day get any worse?_ Quickly, she took after him, drawing her gun from her holster. “Stop! FBI! Stop that kid!” she yelled, hoping to get some help from bystanders. She noticed the shoppers just ignored her shouts. Growling in frustration, she took off after him in a run. She dodged around the shoppers, the kid’s lead increasing. Channeling her earlier anger at her mother, she put on a burst of speed, just as he was turning the corner. 

She rounded the corner after him and noticed that he was blocked by a group of elderly women. Grinning, she quickly grabbed him and threw him to the ground. “First off, idiot,” she said panting. “If you’re going to steal someone’s purse, try to pick someone who is not a cop!”

Quickly she cuffed him, and then sat him down on the sidewalk. She grabbed her cell phone out of her purse and quickly called it in. She studied the teen, realizing that he couldn’t even be driving age yet. “So, what’s your name?” she asked him.

The boy just ignored her. “So, don’t really want to talk. That’s fine. Let me point a couple of things out you did wrong here. First off, if you’re looking to steal someone’s purse, pick someone who is going into a store. Oh, yeah, and don’t pick the person who happens to be an FBI agent!”

The teen was still silent when the patrol cruiser pulled up. The officer got out and walked up to them. “You called in an attempted robbery?”

Cory smiled. “Special Agent Corrine Reid, FBI,” she said, extending her hand. “The perp grabbed my purse, I ran him down. Not willing to talk to me, so I don’t even know his name.”

The office smiled. “Office Leland,” he said grasping her hand briefly. He then leaned over and helped the teenager up. “Come on, son. Let’s get you settled.”

Cory watched. “May I come with you to the station? I need to file a report and I want my handcuffs back.”

The office laughed and after the would be thief was settled in the backseat, he opened the passenger door for her. “Here you go.”

Cory got in quickly and they were soon on their way to the station to make the report.

\---------------

When Stella got back up to the lab, Angell still hadn’t arrived with Dr. Shelton. She and Danny walked into the lab, where Kendall was processing the vic’s clothes. “Got anything, Kendall?” Stella asked.

The blonde looked up and smiled. “Couple of things, Stella. First of all, this woman had way too many hairs on her clothes. The majority on the jacket is human hair, but I found some on her panties that is a cat hair. A Siberian cat, to be precise.”

Danny looked at her. “Cat hair, huh? Who gets cat hair on their underwear?”

Stella cocked her head. “Someone who lives with a cat?”

Kendall nodded her head. “That’s what I thought until Marty sent up a hair that matched the cat hair. He found it in her pubic hair.”

Stella raised her eyebrows at that. “Okay. People in the city are just strange.” She was about to continue when she saw Angell walking down the hall. Angell gave her a nod and pointed to an interrogation room. “Danny? I think our suspect is here. Let’s go crack him.”

Danny laughed as he followed her out of the room.

\---------------

Cory quickly filled out the report on her mugger and smiled at Officer Leland on her way out. She sighed as she got out into the cold November day. She stared up into the sunshine, feeling an icy feeling come over her that had nothing to do with the temperture. She pushed aside the anger at her mother, instead she focused on the information that Cruz had given her. Feeling her mind begin to process all the information, she walked towards the subway, to go to FBI Headquarters.

When she walked in, she noticed that the offices were relatively busy. She smiled at a couple of agents while she walked to her office and once inside, pulled out her notepad to begin brainstorming.

_Why am I so important to Montoya that he wants me dead?_ That was the first question she wrote down. She remembered her earlier conversations with Lydia about how they thought the reason that Montoya was targeting her was because she was affecting his profit. The more she thought about it, the less she believed that was the reason.

She kept writing questions and thought down, but after half an hour, she realized that all she had was random meanderings. Sighing in frustration, Cory put down the pen. “I just don’t get it,” she muttered.

“Don’t get what?” Lydia asked from the doorway.

Cory looked up. “Why Montoya wants me dead. It doesn’t make sense. I ran the numbers and compared to other task forces that have been targeting him, the dent I made in his bottom line is negligible. Barely a drop in the bucket. So, why me? Why am I so damn threatening that he puts a ten million dollar hit out on my life?”

Lydia sighed. “I have no clue. How do you get in the mind of a criminal who is thousands of miles away and who has never been to the United States?”

Cory shrugged. “Ya got me. I’ve been trying to figure out how exactly I could have crossed paths with anyone associated Montoya. The only connection I can come up with in The Martinez Brothers. Javier is dead, Hector is in the wind, but maybe I can get something out of Gabriel. He does want to put Montoya away.”

Lydia nodded. “You want me to go pay him a visit?”

Cory nodded. “Yeah. You might get more out of him than I do. Let me know what you find out.”

Lydia nodded and turned to walk out of the room.

“Hey, Lydia? Be careful,” Cory called after her.

“Always.”

\---------------

Stella and Angell walked into the interrogation room to find a distraught man in scrubs. He looked at them. “She’s dead? Pam’s dead?” he asked, tears glistening in his eyes.

Stella looked at the Dr. Shelton. “I’m sorry, but yes.”

Angell looked at him, knowing that he was their prime suspect, but didn’t want to scare him off. “Do you know anyone who would want to hurt her? Did she have any confrontations in the last couple of days?”

Dr. Shelton shook his head. “Not that I know of. Everyone loved Pam. She volunteered at the soup kitchen, held fundraisers. She was trying to make the world a better place.”

Angell jumped in for the kill. “So the two million dollar life insurance policy that you had on her was for nothing?”

Dr. Shelton looked up in shock. “I loved my wife. I had the same policy on myself. I wanted to make sure that if anything happened to either one of us, then the other would be provided for. There’s a provision in her will that stated that if she were to die, that half of the life insurance money would go to help the poor.”

Stella looked at him, not believing his story. “Do you know what Vercuronium Bromide is?”

He nodded. “It’s a muscle relaxant that is used in surgery. It prevents the patients from thrashing around on the table. Why?”

“Because you injected her with it before the store opened.”

Dr. Shelton looked at her in shock. “That’s not possible. I left the house at five-thirty this morning. I had an early surgery scheduled. I was at the hospital by six and in surgery by seven. I hadn’t even left the hospital until she brought me here.”

Stella sighed. “You didn’t even take a bathroom break?”

He looked at her in disbelief. “Maybe five minutes. Shouldn’t you be trying to find the person who killed my wife?”

Stella and Angell shook their head, knowing that they were at a dead end. Stella looked at him. “We’ll need your fingerprints and a DNA sample to rule you out as a suspect.”

“Fine. Anything I can do.”

After collecting the evidence, when Stella was about to leave, something prompted her to ask, “Do you have a cat?”

“No. Pam was allergic.”

Stella nodded, disguising her surprise. “Alright. Thank you for your time and don’t leave town.” She walked out of the room, her frustration rising.


	35. A Rwd Herring

Chapter 35.

** A Red Herring? **

Lydia walked into the prison for her meeting with Gabriel. She calmly checked her gun and badge and was led to a small meeting room. She nodded to Gabriel as she sat down. “How are you doing?” she asked politely.

“Fine. Have you caught the bastard that killed my brother?”

Lydia shook her head. “Not yet, but we are working on it. Your information was very useful. What do you know about Montoya?”

Gabriel stared at her. “Not much. He inherited the cartel from his father. Built it from a small organization to a multinational corporation.”

“Why does he want Agent Reid dead?”

“I don’t know. I was never that high in the organization to get that kind of information. I know that it is a personal reason, but we never had that conversation. People who ask him personal question have a tendency to end up dead.”

Lydia looked at him, trying to determine if he was telling the truth. “Okay. What kind of information can you give me on him?”

“He’s completely ruthless when it comes to the business and his family. He has killed men that his sisters were interested in for a variety of reason. The main thought behind it is that they were not good enough for them. He had a brother, who was killed by a rival cartel, who was supposed to inherit the business.”

“Do you know anyone who might know why he wants Agent Reid dead?”

Gabriel shook his head. “Hector might, but I can’t guarantee it. He was in pretty deep with them.”

“Where is Hector?”

“Best guess? Columbia. He was moving up the chain of command pretty quickly.”

“Do you know any aliases for Montoya?”

“No. Really, Agent Sanchez. I wish I could help more, but Hector kept Javier and me in the dark. He was getting very power hungry. As a result, I’m in jail and Javier is dead.”

Lydia nodded. “Thank you for your time,” she said as she got up. Leaving the room, she sighed in frustration. _It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack._

\---------------

Danny and Stella were in the lab, going over the evidence. “I don’t get it, Stella. The husband has an airtight alibi. The surgery was taped and he never left during it. I know this cat hair is important. Kendall said it was a Siberian cat.”

Stella shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I’ve never heard of one.” She turned to the computer and quickly punched in some keys. “Says here that Siberian cats are native to Russia. Not a big surprise. They are fairly rare in the United States. Price range around $1800.”

Danny looked up in surprise. “For a cat! Why?”

Stella shrugged. “I have no clue. I don’t get why you would pay that much for any house pet. So if our vic had cat hair all over her clothes and body and the husband is allergic to cats, where’d she get the hair from?”

Danny shrugged his shoulders. “Knockin’ boots with someone else?”

Stella raised an eyebrow. “Knockin’ boots? You’ve been around Cory way to long, Messer,” she said with a laugh.

“Sorry,” he replied without sincerity. “It’s bound to happen.”

Stella laughed again. “As long as you don’t start saying y’all, then I think I’ll be alright. Maybe there is some sort of registry for these cats? Can we get a list of people who own them in the city?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t we have Marty process the body further? Check for signs of sexual activity?”

“Good idea. I’ll have him do that if you’ll start searching for a registry.”

Danny nodded his head. “Awight.”

\---------------

Cory was sitting in her office, still trying to brainstorm reasons for why Montoya wanted her dead. Finally, she gave up and began to pull up financial records for Los Dios. She was pouring over the data, when Cruz called her.

_“I have some information for you. They are bringing in a load of drugs. Down on the docks. They want me to tell you that it’s arriving at one a.m. on a Cargo Ship named_ Our Lady of Peace. _It’s really coming in on a ship called Glencaim at eleven p.m.”_

“Okay. We’ll hit the _Our Lady of Peace_ , but just observe the _Glencaim._ I don’t want to compromise your position. Thanks for the information. Be careful. Keep your eyes open.”

_“I will.”_

Cory hung up the phone and pulled out her schedule on who was available for a sting operation. She quickly drew up two different lists. One for each ship. She was in the process of notifying the agents when Lydia walked in. She held up her hand and motioned for her to sit down. When she finally hung up the phone, she looked at Lydia expectantly. “Anything?”

Lydia shook her head. “Not much. All he knows is that Montoya is after you for a personal reason. Unfortunately, anyone who asks Montoya personal questions has a nasty habit of ending up dead.”

Cory furrowed her brow. “That’s enlightening,” she said sarcastically. She shook her head. “You up to leading an op tonight?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“Cruz called me with some information. A drug drop. Los Dios wants me to go after a ship called _Our Lady of Peace_ , while the drugs are really on the _Glencaim._ I’ll go after the set up, while you watch the other one. I just want information. No interference. Just observation.”

Lydia nodded. “I can do that. What time and where?”

“Eleven p.m. and Pier Nine.”

Lydia smiled. “It’s a date. Although, I’ll have to tell Sheldon that I have to bail on our dinner plans.” She sighed. “That’s the nature of the job.”

Cory laughed, completely understanding where she was coming from. She settled back in her chair and began to make plans.

\---------------

Danny was still hunting down a registry of cat owners when Mac walked in. “Danny? It’s almost seven. You’ve been here for close to twelve hours. Go home. Spend some time with your fiancée.”

Danny looked up. “But…”

“No buts. The evidence will still be here tomorrow.” He sighed as he logged all the evidence back in and rolled his head to relieve some of the tension in his neck. After he finished logging the evidence, he called Cory.

_“Reid.”_

“Hey, _bella._ You up for dinner?”

Cory smiled. _“Hey. Only if it’s bring in. I’m at work and I have a raid tonight, so I’m working all night.”_

Danny felt a little disappointment at her statement. “How about I bring you dinner? What are you in the mood for?”

_“As long as it’s not pizza, I’m good. That’s what I had for lunch.”_

Danny smiled. “Alright. I’ll be there in about an hour.”

\---------------

An hour later, Cory heard her stomach rumbling. She looked at the clock and realized that it had been seven hours since she had eaten. Shaking her head, she stared back down at the paper, hoping that Danny would arrive soon.

Minutes later, her hopes came true. “Heard someone was hungry.”

Cory looked up and saw that Danny was carrying bags of Chinese food. “You are my most favorite person in the world right now. I’m starving!”

Danny laughed. “ _Bella?_ You really need to eat more than once a day.”

Cory shook her head. “Let’s just say I’ve had in interesting day.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Montoya wants me dead for a personal reason, I was mugged and oh, yeah. My mom had an affair before I was born and my dad may not actually be my dad.”

Danny sat there in shock, not sure what to react to first. “You were mugged?”

Cory laughed. “Stupid kid. Had to chase him down then arrest him.”

Danny looked at her carefully. “Wanna talk about your mom?” he asked as he pulled the cartons out of the bag.

Cory shook her head. “Not right now. I need to have my head clear for tonight.”

Danny nodded. “Alright. I have a case where a woman was trampled to death in Saks.”

“That’s why I never shop the day after Thanksgiving. Crazy people.”

They continued to talk about random events. Danny was careful not to bring up her family. Finally, a little after nine, Cory looked up. “ _Chere?_ I hate to do this, but I’ve gotta go. I have some final preparations to make before the dual ops tonight.”

Danny nodded his understanding. “What time do you think you’ll be home?”

“Late. Four at the earliest.”

Danny smiled as he leaned over to kiss her. “Be safe.”

“I will. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he said as he walked out of the door.

\---------------

At one a.m. Cory was sitting in the communications booth, going over last minute preparations. She had already briefed her team on possible threats, and was watching with the night vision cameras. “Okay, people. The vans are pulling up. Remember, do not reveal yourselves until they have loaded all the drugs into the vans. I want to make sure we get all of them.”

She waited patiently and when all the boxes were loaded into the vans, she called her team in. Taking point, she drew her gun and motioned her team in. All of the sudden, the lights went on and her team strung into action. “FBI! Put your hands up!” she yelled.

Some of the men drew weapons, but her team was ready for that, they quickly disabled the men, with very little gunfire.

After it was over, she looked over the boxes. Opening them carefully, she calculated the rough calculation of how much cocaine was present. “Harrison?” she asked. “Do all of these boxes contain cocaine?”

“Yes. Looks like about two hundred pounds of pure cocaine.”

Cory did the rough calculations in her head. “That’s a street value of around six million dollars. Nice work. Let’s get this back to the evidence lockup. I want all of the smugglers interviewed by tomorrow night.”

Cory shook her head, confused. “I don’t get it,” she muttered under her breath.

“Don’t get what?” Lydia asked from behind her.

Cory jumped. “Jesus, Lydia! Where did you come from? I thought you had already left.”

Lydia smiled. “I couldn’t stay away. That didn’t answer my question.”

Cory nodded. “This was supposed to be a fake hit. Why sacrifice this amount of cocaine, just to make me believe an informant?”

Lydia shook her head. “I have no clue. I can tell you that the amount of boxes they took off the other ship was about three times this amount. Not all of those looked like possible drugs.”

Cory sighed. “This job is really confusing sometimes, ya know that?” She turned and watched her team finish collecting all of the drugs. “I’d better get this logged in. I’m beat and want to do nothing more than go home and sleep for a day.”

Working together, both women finished clearing the scene.

\---------------

When Cory got home, she immediately crawled in next to Danny.

“How’d the bust go?”

Cory started at his voice. “Why are you awake?”

Danny opened his eyes. “I was worried about you,” he stated simply while drawing her into his arms.

“It went almost too well,” she replied, nestling into his arms while yawing.

Danny noticed how tired she was and placed a light kiss on her forehead. “Night, _bella._ ”

“G’night, Danny,” she murmured as she drifted off to sleep.


	36. Hey Jealousy

Chapter 36.

** Hey Jealousy **

Danny heard his phone go off about seven a.m. Quickly, he picked it up so that it didn’t wake up Cory. “Messer,” he said quietly.

_“Danny, it’s Stella.”_

“Hey, Stel. Give me a sec,” he asked her as he walked out of bedroom. He closed the door. “Okay. What’s up?”

_“I think I might have a lead on the cat hair.”_

“Really?”

_“Yeah. When can you get here?”_

Danny debated with himself for a moment. While he wanted to be there when Cory woke up, he knew that she would be upset if he let her come between him and his work. Sighing, he made is decision. “Let me get a shower and I’ll be there.” He shook his head as he hung up the phone. Quickly, he went into the guest bathroom as not to awaken Cory.

Twenty minutes later, he snuck back into the bedroom, where Cory was still dead to the world. He smiled softly, loving the innocent look she had in her sleep. He got dressed and before walking out of the apartment, left her a note on the chalkboard.

Stella practically pounced on him when he walked into the lab. “Danny! What took you so long? Come on.”

Danny shook his head, feeling the need for a very strong cup of coffee. “Stel? I haven’t even had coffee, yet. Why the hell are you so happy?”

Stella drew back and noticed the bags under his eyes. “You okay?”

Danny rolled his eyes lightly. “Just tired. Cory had a raid last night and didn’t get home until a little after four. I couldn’t sleep until she got home.”

Stella studied him. “You were worried after what happened last time, weren’t you?”

Danny sighed and looked away from her. “I really don’t want to talk about it, Stella.”

Stella nodded, sensing that he wasn’t ready to talk. “Okay. I’ll accept that for now, but I’m here if you need to talk. Anyway, I was talking to Mac last night and he suggested that if you’re going to have that expensive of a pet, wouldn’t you have insurance?”

Danny nodded. “I get where you’re going. I take it that there is an insurance registry for pets?”

“Yeah. We’ve got a suspect list. There are four people in the city that have Siberian cats.”

Danny looked at Stella. “You’ve got that look. What else do we have?”

“One of them happens to be a surgeon.”

Danny raised is eyebrows. “You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?”

“That our vic was having an affair that went wrong? Yeah.”

Danny thought for a moment. “Do we have anything that ties them together?”

“He works at the same hospital as the husband,” Stella said with a gleam in her eyes.

Danny smirked. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go pay him a visit.”

\---------------

Cory woke up around nine and glanced around. _Damn. Danny must have gone in already._ She sighed and she stretched. Feeling the vertebra in her neck pop as she stretched, she reluctantly got out of bed and into a hot shower.

An hour later, Cory finally felt human again as she reluctantly made her way into the office. Even though it was Saturday, she was still dressed in a suit. When she got to her office, she sat down and tried to figure out who was going to interrogate who. Grabbing a notepad, she began to make a list.

“Hey. Did you get any sleep last night?” Lydia queried from the doorway.

Cory looked up. “Probably about as much as you. How are we going to interrogate them?”

Lydia smiled. “Let me take that one. They claim to only speak Spanish. I’ve got the first one lined up, if you want to observe.”

Cory’s left eyebrow rose. “Like that’s going to do me any good. I don’t speak Spanish.” She shook her head before continuing, “Why don’t I work on the numbers side of it and you let me know what you find out. I’m really curious to see what was so damn important to get into this country that Los Dios would sacrifice six million in cocaine.”

Lydia nodded. “If you figure that out, please let me know. I’ve been wondering the same thing.”

Cory nodded and went back to making her list. A couple of hours later, she looked at the report from her forensics squad. _Eight million, street value. Why the hell is Montoya willing to take that as a loss? Something else is going on here. Something big. I just can’t figure it out._ In her frustration, she threw the pen across the room, just missing Lydia as she walked in.

“Hey! What did the pen do to piss you off?” she asked jokingly.

Cory just shook her head. “Nothing. Please tell me you got something out of them. Please.”

Lydia just nodded. “Not a damn thing.” Lydia studied Cory carefully. “Listen. Go home. I know you’re tired. Hell, I’m exhausted! Get some sleep. Let’s pick this back up on Monday. These guys aren’t going anywhere. Maybe a couple of days in lock up will loosen their tongues.”

Cory yawned in response. “Awight. You’re right. Maybe I can figure it out after some sleep.”

\---------------

Danny and Angell arrived at the hospital only to find that their suspect, Dr. Lang, had the day off. Danny called Stella to let her know and she shared the results of Sid sexual activity assessment.

Nodding as he hung up the phone, he turned to Angell. “Vic did have sex before she died. Sid found semen and is in the process of doing a DNA test.” Angell nodded and they made their way to his home address. After they knocked, Danny stared at the door. “I hope he doesn’t run.”

Angell just smirked. “Why? Afraid of running?”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Nope. Just don’t want to have to chase anyone today.”

His fear was alleviated when the man opened the door. Angell looked at Dr. Lang, who was just wearing a pair of pajama pants. “Dr. Lang? I’m Detective Angell; this is Detective Messer, NYPD. We’d like to ask you a few questions.”

Dr. Lang stood aside and motioned for them to enter. “What’s this about?”

“Do you know Pamela Shelton?”

The doctor nodded. “Yes. I work with her husband. Is everything alright?”

Angell looked at him. “Other than she was murdered, yeah, everything is fine.”

The doctor tried to look surprised, but wasn’t able to pull the look off. Danny noticed this and got ready to jump in for the kill. “Were you having an affair with her?”

“With Pam? No,” he denied.

Danny watched as white and cream colored cat walked into the room. “Nice cat. It’s a Siberian, right?”

Dr. Lang looked at Danny in confusion. “Yes, she is. Are you a cat fancier?”

Danny shook his head. “Nope. Tell me something, Dr. Lang. Was Pam here the morning after Thanksgiving?”

“No.”

Angell raised her eyebrows. “Really? You see, she was covered in cat hair. From a Siberian cat, to be exact. Now how is it that she was covered in hair from your cat, yet she wasn’t here?”

Dr. Lang didn’t say anything. Danny and Angell turned at the sound of the bedroom door opening up.

“Honey? Are you coming back to bed?”

Danny felt his mouth drop open when Dr. Shelton walked out of the bedroom, dressed in just a robe.

\---------------

Danny shook his head when he got back to the lab, with both of the doctors in tow. He quickly filled Stella in on their discovery.

“You’ve got to be joking, right?” she asked in surprise.

“Nope. So who you want? Shelton or Lang?”

“Since you and Angell have already questioned Shelton, I’ll take Lang. See what I can get out of him.”

Danny nodded and made his way to interrogation one. Stella made her way to interrogation two.

Danny and Angell walked into to see a somber looking Shelton looking at them.

“Dr. Shelton, for a grieving husband, you certainly got over you grief quickly,” Angell stated. “What is the nature of your relationship with Dr. Lang?”

“Am I under arrest?” he asked belligerently.

Danny looked at him. “Nope. But I really do want to see whatcha know. You see, cat hairs, that are going to match your lover’s cat, were found in your wife’s pubic hair. So, anything you want to tell me?”

The doctor just stared at him in shock. “What?”

“Come on, man. Did you love your wife?” At the man’s nod, Danny continued, “Then help us catch the man you murdered your wife.”

“Doug and I have been together for about a year. Wait! It’s not what you think. Pam and I had an open relationship. We loved each other, but we had different needs. She knew that I was seeing Doug. She was fine with it.”

Angell frowned. “Was this a two way street? Was she allowed to see other people?”

“Of course.”

“So, who was she seeing?” Danny probed.

“I don’t know. She had been seeing someone for about a month, but she hadn’t told me who it was.”

Danny and Angell looked at each other. “Why don’t you sit tight here? If we have anymore questions, we’ll be back,” Angell said as they left the room.

Stella looked at them as they walked out. “So, they had an open relationship. Shelton was sleeping with the suspect. That’s not enough to put him as the killer. There has to be something else.”

“What about the cat hair? Did what I collected from Dr. Shelton’s cat match the cat hair found on the body?” Danny asked.

Stella nodded. “Yeah. Kendall just made the match.” She looked at Angell. “Angell? Want to question him with me?”

“Yeah. Let’s go!”

Angell and Stella walked into the room. “So, Dr. Lang,” Angell began. “Can you tell me why hair from your cat ended up in the pubic hair of Pamela Shelton?”

“We were sleeping together.”

“Really?” Stella asked. “So you were sleeping with both of them?”

“Yes. Reginald didn’t know.”

“Why? Why did you kill her then?” Angell persisted, going with her gut.

“He wouldn’t leave her. I wanted to take our relationship to the next level, but he wouldn’t leave her.”

Stella and Angell just shook their head, surprised at the easy confession. Stella pushed a notepad in front of him. “Write everything down.”

Silently, the two women left the room, shaking their heads.

\---------------

When Danny got home, after completing his paperwork, he noticed Cory asleep on the couch. He smiled down at her, running his hand lightly on her hair.

Cory opened her eyes at the light touch. “Hey,” she said sleepily.

“Hi. How are you?”

“Tired. Last night really took it out of me. I’m not used to being up for twenty-four hours at a time anymore,” she admitted, sitting up.

Danny smiled softly and sat down beside her, pulling her into his arms. “You haven’t been back in the field for very long, _bella_. It’s to be expected. Just let yourself ease back into it.”

Cory sighed. “I know, but I have this horrible feeling that I don’t have the luxury of time. Montoya is stepping up his business and in order to catch him, I’ll have to be at the top of my game.”

Danny kissed the top of her head. “You’ll do just fine, sweetheart.”

Cory smiled as she snuggled into Danny’s arms, drifting back off to sleep.


	37. Another One Bites the Dust

Chapter 37.

** Another One Bites the Dust **

Danny was drifting off to sleep, watching Saturday Night Live, when Cory began to whimper. He felt her snuggle against him, her subconscious seeking comfort, so he wrapped his arms around her. “Shush…It’s okay,” he murmured.

Cory didn’t hear him; she was locked in a nightmare.

_Cory looked up and squinted into the sunlight. She smiled, looking at her mother, carrying her new sister towards the swings. She watched from where she was sitting in the sandbox and then looked back down at her toys. Giggling, she was piling sand into a pail when a shadow fell over her. She looked up in curiosity._

_“Do you want some candy?” a man asked, holding out a lollipop to her. Cory nodded as she reached for the candy. The man pulled the candy just out of her reach and beckoned her to follow him._

_The next thing that Cory knew, the man had picked her up and as she started to scream for her mother, his hand covered her face, muffling her screams._

Cory shot awake, screaming for her mother. Danny tightened his arms around her, trying to comfort her out of the nightmare.

“It’s just a nightmare, _bella._ It’s okay. Everything’s okay,” he murmured, stoking her hair. 

Cory wrapped her arms around him, shaking like a leaf. “Danny?” she asked with tears rolling down her face. “Oh, God. Danny!”

Danny continued to stroke her hair. “Cory? What was the nightmare about?”

Cory looked up at him, still shaking. “I’m not sure. I think I was being kidnapped. But I don’t understand; I was never kidnapped.”

Danny looked at her. “It was just a dream, _bella._ ”

Cory looked at him, shaking her head. “No, it wasn’t. I know what a dream feels like. This was more familiar, more intimate. I was never kidnapped, so why would I dream this?”

Danny just drew her into his chest. “I don’t know _bella._ I don’t know. Why don’t we go to bed?”

Cory nodded as she stood up off the couch. Together they walked to the bedroom.

\-----------------------------

When Cory awoke the next day, she was still subdued. She looked at Danny, who was still fast asleep. She puzzled over her nightmare in her mind, knowing in her gut that it wasn’t a nightmare. It was a memory. _Why? Why wouldn’t Mom tell me I’d been kidnapped? It doesn’t make sense. Wait. Calmly think this over._

“Cory? Talk it out to me,” Danny murmured sleepily. 

“Huh?” she replied, a little startled.

Danny sat up in the bed, wiping the sleep from his eyes. “You’re obviously thinking about your dream. I know it helps you to talk things out, so talk it out.”

Cory smiled softly, realizing with a start how well Danny could read her. “Okay. Obviously, I was kidnapped as a child.” She closed her eyes, trying to bring the details of the dream back to her, concentrating on the weather. “It was fall.”

“How do you know that?” he questioned, trying to jog her memory.

“It was cool, but not cold. The grass was brown. That only happens in the fall. The summer heat turns everything brown by mid-July,” she replied. “I was in the park, with my mom and Beth, but Beth was a baby. So this must have been in ’78.”

“How do you know what year it was?”

Cory looked at him. “Beth was just an infant. She was born in July of 1978, so since she was an infant, then it had to be that year.”

Danny looked at her, impressed. “Okay. So where were you in the park?”

Cory furrowed her brow as she tried to recall the details which felt like trying to catch a fish in a barrel of water. She sighed heavily. “The sandbox. I was playing in the sand. Mom and Beth were at the swings. Mom was sitting in a swing with Beth in her arms, rocking back and forth. Then a man came. He asked me if I wanted candy and led me away from view.” Cory opened her eyes. “That’s all I remember.”

“What did the man look like?”

“I have no idea. I didn’t get a clear look at him.”

Danny looked at her. “Why don’t you ask your mom about it?

Cory shook her head. “No way. She didn’t tell me that she had an affair and it’s a possibility that my dad isn’t my dad.”

Danny shook his head. “ _Bella?_ She might not have admitted that she had an affair, but I can’t see why she wouldn’t tell you that you were kidnapped.”

Cory sighed as she settled back on the bed. “I don’t know. I feel like I don’t know her anymore.” She shook her head in confusion.

Danny looked at her with concern shining in his eyes. He wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her. “Sweetheart, I know that you feel confused, but she did tell you about the affair.”

Cory pursed her lips. “Only after Aunt CC told me to ask her about Alejandro. That’s the whole reason she told me. I confronted her with the name.”

Danny stroked her hair. “It’s a tough decision. Listen. If you were kidnapped, wouldn’t there be some sort of record about it? Newspaper articles, police reports? You do work for the FBI. Why don’t you see what you can find?”

Cory shook her head sheepishly. “Why the hell didn’t _I_ think about that?” She turned in his arms and kissed him in her gratitude. She had just started to deepen the kiss when both of their phones rang. Reluctantly they pulled apart. “Damn,” Cory muttered. “Can’t we get a day off?”

Danny laughed. “You know that crime doesn’t sleep,” he quipped as he picked up his phone.

“Messer?”

“Reid?”

“Be right there,” they both responded.

Cory had a hunch and decided to go with her gut. “Where’s your DB at?”

“Docks.”

“Pier 12, right?”

Danny looked at her in surprise. “Yeah. How’d ya know?”

“That’s where I’m headed. DB is Javier Martinez.” Cory closed her eyes briefly. “Damn. I was hoping to capture him and get some information out of him on Montoya.” She sighed again as she got out of the bed and began to get ready.

\--------------------------------

An hour later, after battling the hellish traffic, Cory and Danny arrived at the scene. Both were dressed in jeans and button down shirts. Cory had her sheepskin jacket that Lindsay had gotten her on, still not used to the cold weather. Flashing their badges, both stepped under the crime scene tape.

“Whadda ya got, Flack,” Danny queried.

“DB, floater. Shot execution style and dumped in the river.”

Cory knelt down and looked at the body. “Yup. That’s Javier Martinez.” She shook her head in resignation. “Damn.”

Flack looked at Cory, empathizing with her. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Flack. I don’t know if he would have given me any info anyway. I still have Gabriel locked up, so maybe he can shed some light on this.” Cory withdrew her phone from her pocket. “Hey, Lydia. It’s Cory. I’m sorry to drag you out of bed, but Javier Martinez was just found dead. Can you go to Riker’s and break the news to Gabriel? Thanks.”

Danny was studying the body as she hung up the phone. “Looks just like the body of Hector.”

“I expect that he was killed by Montoya.” She stood up. “Look. I’m going to the office. I’m going to see if I can possibly get a recent address for him for you. I’ll call you if I find anything,” she said as she turned to walk away. 

“Just let me know,” Danny called after her as he prepared to examine the body further.

\-----------------------------

Several hours later, Cory was frustrated at her lack of finding anything for the team. Sighing, she shut down her computer and prepared to leave, coming to the decision that she was getting nowhere. She had just walked out of her office when her phone rang.

“Reid.”

_“Cory? Where the hell are you?”_ Taylor’s concerned voice asked her.

“Aw, shit, Tay. I’m sorry! I totally forgot about our lunch plans! I got called in to work, but I’m leaving now. I can be there in fifteen.”

Taylor chuckled. _“I understand. I’ll order you something to eat, so it’ll be here ready when you get here.”_

“Thanks, Tay.”

Cory was still shaking her head at herself when she walked into the café. “Tay,” she said as she sat down at the table. “I am so sorry. It’s been a weird day.”

Taylor raised her eyebrow. “Weird day as in my definition of weird or something else?”

Cory thought for a moment. “A little of both,” she said as she filled Taylor in on her dream.

Taylor thought for a moment. “I think Danny’s right. You should do some digging and you should talk to your mom.”

“I’m not ready to talk to my mom. I did do a little digging in the FBI files, but I didn’t find anything.” She paused for a moment. “That doesn’t really mean anything, though. The FBI only gets involved if children are taken across state lines.”  
  


Taylor nodded thoughtfully. “Why don’t I dig around? I have some useful contacts around the country; maybe they’ll be able to find something.”

“You would do that for me?” Cory asked in surprise.

“Of course! That’s what friends do. Beside, things are still quiet on the ghost front, so I have extra time.” She looked at Cory, a question forming. “Why haven’t you asked Armando or your Aunt CC about it?”

Cory shook her head. “I don’t think that they can release the information to me.” She paused again, trying to put her thoughts into a coherent sentence. “After I had the first dream, Aunt CC told me to ask Mom about Alejandro. They just showed up. I didn’t call ‘em. If they were allowed to give me information, I think they would have shown up by now.”

Taylor nodded in understanding. “I really hate TPTB sometimes. They are so damn cryptic. I mean, Maddy can speak every single language there is, but she’s not allowed to translate for me?” In exasperation, Taylor rolled her eyes.

Cory laughed softly. “I think it’s more about the journey, grasshopper. If they just told us everything then that takes free will out of the equation.”

Taylor laughed at her sally. “I know, it’s just good to whine about to someone who understands!”

Cory couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing. “I’m sorry,” she said in between giggles. “I just can’t stop!”

Taylor nodded and joined her in her laughter, thinking that it was good to see Cory in a good mood after everything that had happened.


	38. The Plot Thickens

Chapter 38.

** The Plot Thickens **

A couple of days later, Cory had put the nightmare out of her mind. She was busy trying to track down what Montoya had smuggled into the country, which even Cruz couldn’t tell her. Hearing her phone beep, she looked down at it and realized that she had a text message. _Need to talk. Central Park Zoo. 8pm._ Puzzled she checked the sender and realized that it had come from Cruz.

Grimacing, she realized that she would have to cancel her plans with Taylor, Marty and Danny. Picking up her phone, she quickly dialed Taylor.

_“Hello?”_

“Tay. It’s Cory. I have to cancel tonight,” she said.

_“Why?”_

“I have to meet up with an informant. Can we rain-check it?” Cory didn’t get a response from Taylor. “Tay? You there? Please don’t be mad at me,” she begged.

_“Oh, sorry. I got distracted. I think it might be good that you are canceling. I seem to have a bloody visitor.”_

Cory breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay. I’ll call you and see if we can get our schedules to match up again.”

_“Okay. Bye,”_ Taylor said, still distracted by the ghost standing in front of her.

Cory shook her head as she hung up the phone, glad that she didn’t have constant visitors like Taylor did. Looking at the clock, she realized that she had just under two hours before the meeting, so she sent a quick text to Danny and went home to change.

\----------------------------------

Meanwhile, Taylor was staring at the ghost standing in front of her. He had yet to say anything, so she was getting impatient. “Maddy?” she asked. “Why won’t this guy say anything?”

Maddy shrugged. “I have no clue,” she said just as the man disappeared. Maddy shook her head. “False alarm, maybe?” she quipped as she vanished.

Taylor just shook her head. “God, I need a vacation.”

\----------------------------------

Cory took care while she was dressing. She strapped on her ankle holster and put her back up Smith and Wesson .22 in there. Then she made sure that her Glock was strapped securely at the small of her back, in easy reach. She had just pulled her shirt back down, when she heard the door open.

“Cory?”

Cory walked from the bedroom into the living room. “Hey,” she greeted Danny with a small kiss. “I’m just getting ready to leave. I’m sorry that I had to cancel tonight.”

Danny brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “I understand. Are you meeting your agent?”

Cory nodded her head before turning and walking into the bathroom. “Yeah,” she called out. “I’m hoping that he has some info on the merchandise for me.” She quickly finished braiding her hair, so that it stayed out of her face. “I really need a break here. I’m…” she trailed off in her frustration. “I just want to catch the bastard.”

Danny nodded his understanding. “I know, _bella._ I want you to catch him, too.” He eyes locked with hers. “Please, be careful.”

Cory grinned. “Always. I’d better go,” she said as she walked out of the bathroom. As she was putting on her coat, she turned to him. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

\----------------------------------

Cory shivered in her jacket as the wind made its way into her collar. _I hate winter!_ She shivered again as she checked her watch for the tenth time in the previous four minutes. It was five after eight. _Come on, Cruz. You’re never late. Where the hell are you?_

She turned as she heard the unmistakable sound of erratic footsteps on the concrete. Unconsciously, she drew back into the shadows for protection as the person shuffled towards her. She quickly drew her gun from the holster, taking off the safety in stealth.

Quietly, she readied herself as the figure walked into a pool of light. As she recognized the beaten and bloody man, she quickly holstered the gun and ran towards him. “Cruz!” she cried out in surprise as he collapsed to the ground. “Ovidio?” she said softly, quickly checking for a pulse and breathing a sigh of relief to find one, however faint it was. “Come on. Stay with me,” she urged him, checking him over for wounds.

As her hands passed over his left shoulder, they came away covered in blood. _Shit,_ she thought as she realized he had been shot. Working quickly, she stripped off her coat and the long sleeved T-shirt she had on underneath her sweater. She folded the material up and applied the pressure to his shoulder, trying to control the bleeding. Once that was done, she picked up her phone and dialed 911. “This is Special Agent Corrine Reid, FBI. I need an ambulance at the entrance to Central Park Zoo. We have an agent down. He’s bleeding heavily from a shoulder wound.”

The operator promised her that the ambulance was on its way just as Cruz’s eyes fluttered. She looked down at him and saw his lips moving, slowly. “What?” she asked, automatically lowering her head to try to catch the words before the wind stole them.

“C4. Bomb, on subway. Trap,” he managed to whisper.

Cory’s eyes widened in surprise. “Shit.” She pulled out the phone again, this time dialing Lydia. She cursed under her breath in French as it went straight to voicemail. “Lydia, it’s Cory. Cruz’s cover has been blown. The shipment was C4. There’s a bomb on the subway. I’m about to call it in, please call me back when…” Cory trailed off as her senses picked up a shadow moving.

Before she had time to react, she felt a blow to her head and darkness engulfed her.


	39. The Struggle Within

Chapter 39.

** The Struggle Within **

With sirens wailing, the police car and ambulance screeched to a halt outside of the Central Park Zoo. Several officers poured out of the police cars and began to secure the area; meanwhile two paramedics climbed out of the ambulance.

The Hispanic man looked at the black man in confusion. “Wasn’t there an FBI agent that was supposed to be here, Doc?” he asked.

Doc looked around, looking in the shadows. “I don’t see anyone,” he said walking towards to the prone body lying on the concrete, with a bloody shirt lying on his shoulder. He bent over the body and quickly checked for a pulse. “I’ve got a pulse here, Carlos,” he said as he put the stethoscope in his ears. 

Carlos bent over the body from the other side. “Single GSW to the left shoulder. Looks like he lost a lot of blood. Let’s see if we can get him stable to transport.” He continued working the man, while looking for some sort of ID.

They had just loaded him onto the stretcher when another car screeched to a halt besides the ambulance. Both men stared as Flack jumped out of the SUV. “Doc, Carlos. Whaddya got?”

Doc looked at him. “Hispanic male. Single GSW to the shoulder. Haven’t found an ID yet. Strange thing is that it was called in by an FBI agent, but no one was on scene.”

Flack furrowed his brow at that statement and peered to look at the unconscious man some more. Realization quickly dawned in his eyes as the recognized the man and began to curse under his breath. 

Doc looked at him. “What’s wrong?”

Flack looked at him. “This man is a UC for the FBI. I know his handler.” Flack turned around as he began to scan the scene for signs of Cory just as Stella and Hawkes arrived. 

Stella immediately noticed the worried expression on his face and drew him to the side. “What is it?”

Flack looked at her. “I think Cory was here. An FBI agent called this in, but no one but the body was here. He’s her UC. He’s been shot and is unconscious,” Flack said tersely as his eyes scanned the scene. He quickly withdrew his cell phone and began to dial.

Stella and Hawkes looked around in confusion until they heard the sound of a cell phone ringing. It was playing _Bad Boys_ , which they knew was Cory’s ring tone for Flack. Both drew in sharp breaths as Stella walked towards the sound. She found the phone hidden in some bushes. “This is not good,” she stated.

Hawkes turned around and spotted two guns lying on the ground. “Stell? I see two guns,” he said as he took photographs of the scene. After he was done with the camera, he set it aside and picked up the weapons. “I have a Smith & Wesson .22 and a 9mm Glock.” He carefully bagged the guns, for evidence.

Stella, meanwhile, was walking around the shadows where the phone was found. She paused when a beam of light flashed off of a syringe. “I’ve got a syringe here. Looks fresh. Everything else over here has water on it, but this.” Stella shook her head in worry as she bagged the evidence.

Together, they continued to scour the scene for every scrap of evidence. Finally after bagging up the bloody shirt, they began to pack up their kits. Sighing, Stella looked at Hawkes. “Why don’t you take this back to the lab. I’m going to stop by Danny and Cory’s to see if by any chance she is there.”

Hawkes nodded somberly as he accepted the evidence. “Good luck.”

Stella nodded as she climbed into the SUV.

\----------------------------------

Danny was just checking the marinara when he heard a knock at the door. Adding a dash of oregano, he quickly put the lid back on the saucepot and walked to the door. When he opened it, he saw a somber Stella staring at him. “Everything okay, Stell?” he asked.

Stella chose her words carefully. “I’m not sure. Can I come in?”

Danny stood to the side and motioned for her to enter, a feeling a dread beginning to overwhelm him. “Stell? What’s wrong?”

Stella bit her lip before turning to face him. “Is Cory here?”

Danny shook his head. “No. She had a meeting with her UC. I don’t expect her back for another…” he trailed off as he saw the look on her face. “What the hell is going on, Stella?”

“Her UC was found shot and unconscious in front of Central Park Zoo. Her cell phone was found in the bushes and a bloody shirt with his body. There was no sign of her,” she said truthfully.

Danny felt the blood drain out of his face and stars began to appear in front of his eyes. “What? No. No!” he finally exclaimed.

Stella immediately steered the swaying Danny to the couch. “Danny. Breathe. Come on, breathe.”

Danny just sat on the couch. “I…I…” he trailed off, unable to verbalize the feelings that were overwhelming him. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. Dispatch got a call a little after eight. She called in an officer down. Units and an ambulance were on scene within fifteen minutes, but she wasn’t there. Did she call you?”

“No,” he said shaking his head. Suddenly he stood up and walked into the kitchen. He turned off the stove then walked out. “I’m going in, Stell. I’m going to find her.”

Stella stopped him with a soft touch on his arm. “Danny. You can’t be involved in this. You’re her fiancé. I’m sorry.”

Danny shook off her hand. “Damn it, Stella! I love her and I am going to find her,” he yelled as he grabbed his coat.

Stella quickly moved in front of him to block his exit. “Damn it, Danny!” she cried, throwing his words back at him. “You can not contaminate the evidence! If you do, whomever who took her might get away if we even catch them. Think with your head, not your heart for once!” She crossed her arms over her chest, challenging him with her eyes.

Danny sagged in defeat, knowing that she was right. “Fine. Doesn’t mean that I have to be happy about it.”

Stella nodded. “I do need your help, though. What was she wearing? Did she have her gun? Do you know what she expected to gain through this meeting?”

Danny sat back down. “She was wearing a pair of jeans; she had on a black and gray sweater, under her sheepskin jacket. She was wearing black Doc’s.” Danny paused for a moment before getting up to look in the closet. “Her Smith & Wesson and Glock aren’t here, so I assume that she has them. I don’t know what the meeting was about.”

Stella smiled softly. “Thanks, Danny. Look. I’m going to the lab. Call me if you hear anything from her, okay?”

Danny nodded silently, the fear and depression welling up in him again and he prayed to anyone who would listen that she was alright.

\----------------------------------

When Stella got back to the lab, she found chaos, as a team from the FBI had arrived. Looking at Mac, she noticed that he was quickly getting irritated with the team of agents. Deciding that she was the more political of the two, she quickly stepped in between the arguing men. 

Mac, meanwhile, had watched with relief when Stella had walked out of the elevator. He knew that she was much better at playing nice with the feds than he was. He was in the middle of arguing with Special Agent Barry Wells about who was taking the lead in the investigation when she stepped between them.

“Stop it! Stop arguing like children over the last piece of candy. Act like adults!” she told them sternly. At the sudden silence, she made a motion towards Mac’s office. “Why don’t we take this somewhere a little more private?”

Both men followed her docilely into the office. Stella smirked to herself as she turned to the middle age man, with graying blonde hair and gray eyes. “And you are?”

Agent Wells looked at her and grudgingly stuck out his hand. “Agent Barry Wells, FBI Special Bomb Task Force.”

Stella raised an eyebrow at that tidbit of information. “And you are here, why?”

“I’ve got my reasons. The FBI will be handling this investigation,” he added calmly, not willing to share the information that he had.

Stella sighed internally at the bullheadedness of most of the FBI. “Look, Agent Wells. While I know that the FBI is very capable, I honestly don’t think that the Bureau has the either the drive or the benefits of having the best damn criminal investigation team to handle this. This team is dedicated to finding Agent Reid and getting her home safely to her fiancé, who happens to be a detective with this lab.”

“She’s an FBI agent. That makes this our case,” he replied stubbornly.

Stella decided to try another tactic with him. “Okay. So your lab will be able to handle this evidence quickly? You know that our lab is ranked number one in the country, while the last time I checked the FBI lab was ranked fourth. I understand, you don’t want the best people working on finding your agent. I’ll be sure to let her family know this.”

Mac tried not to laugh at the stunned look on the man’s face. _That’s why I love you, Stella._

Stella saw the affect that her words had on Agent Wells. She softened her tone, “Look, Agent Wells. I understand that you want to find your agent, although why someone from the bomb task force is this interested is intriguing.” She paused for a second. “Look, we are used to working with the FBI. Hell, we helped Cory capture Carlos Ortiz. Why don’t you tell us what is actually going on?”

Agent Wells sighed. “I don’t have all the information,” he started before a knock on the door interrupted him. All three people turned to see Lydia walking in.

“Agent Wells,” Lydia began in an icy tone. “I told you that we would be working this investigation jointly with the NYPD. Can you please tell me the reason that you are harassing them instead of letting them do their jobs?”

Agent Wells flinched at her words, but glared at her in return. “Fine. I’ll just leave.”

Lydia closed the door quickly. “No. Like it or not, we all need to work together on this.” She turned to include Mac and Stella. “Look. I got a voicemail from Cory. She said Cruz’s cover was blown. Montoya just had a shipment of C4 delivered to the city. There’s a bomb on the subway and then it just went dead. She was still talking and the line just went dead,” Lydia finished in a whisper. “That’s why Agent Wells is here. We need all the intel that we can get.”

Mac and Stella stared at her in shock. Mac reacted first. “Alright. We need to jump on this. Stella, right now, the best we can do is to try to look for Cory, but we need to find this bomb. I’ll alert Flack and see who much of the force we can muster up. This is now the top priority.”

Both Agent Wells and Lydia nodded somberly, while Stella looked shocked. “But, Mac! What about Cory?”

Mac swallowed hard. “She’s not top priority. I’m sorry Stella, but the lives of millions of people compared the life of one, it’s a hard choice, but it’s one that has to be made.” He looked at her with regret in his eyes. “This is what she would want. How would she react if a lot of people died because we were using our resources to find her instead of the bomb?”

Stella shook her head, feeling like she was being torn in different directions. “I understand that Mac, but if anything happens to her because we weren’t looking hard enough, you’d better starting looking for a new CSI. Danny will not survive that,” she spat out before walking out of the room.


	40. Nothing Else Matters

Chapter 40.

** Nothing Else Matters **

Taylor was staring at her computer in shock. _I don’t believe this. I’ve got to let Cory know!_ She was picking up the phone when she realized that she couldn’t call her because she was meeting with her informant. _Damn. I’ll just send her a text message and tell her we need to meet._ She quickly sent the message and just as she sat back down at her computer, she felt the temperature drop in the room.

She turned to see the same ghost staring back at her again. She looked at the Hispanic man, a couple of inches taller than her. He stood there, staring at her.

Taylor rolled her eyes. “Don’t you have some sort of cryptic message for me? Help me or something?” she said sarcastically when he remained silent. 

“You have to stop the bomb,” he said.

“What bomb?” Taylor asked, concerned.

The man tried to answer, but he vanished instead. Taylor turned to Maddy, who was looking at the air in question. “Maddy? What just happened? It was like he was torn away from here.”

Maddy looked at her. “I’m not sure. I need to consult with The Powers on this,” she stated as she vanished.

Taylor looked at the vacant room. “Okay. All those confused, say I…” She turned as began to get ready to go to the lab.

\----------------------------------

Stella stalked back into the lab, still upset over Mac’s decision. She walked up to Hawkes, who was processing the guns. “What do you have?”

Hawkes shook his head. “Neither gun has been fired. The Glock still has a full clip with one in the chamber and the Smith & Wesson still has six shots. Whoever took her, caught her by surprise,” he stated.

Stella nodded. “I need you to go to the hospital and see if you can get some info out of Cruz.” She sighed. “He gave Cory some info. There is a bomb on the subway. As of now, that is top priority.”

Hawkes stared at Stella in shock. “So we’re not going to find whoever kidnapped Cory?”

Stella shook her head in response.

“Okay. I understand; I don’t like it, but I understand,” he stated simply before turning around to leave.

Stella watched Hawkes leave the lab and then turned to fill everyone else in, including Flack, who had just shown up.

“All right! Listen up. We have a top priority case. There is a bomb somewhere on the subway system. We need to find it before it detonates. As of now, all other cases are set to the side. We are working with the FBI on this case, so please make sure to share the information either with Agent Wells or Agent Sanchez. Any questions?”

Lindsay and Flack looked at Stella. “What about Cory?” Lindsay asked quietly.

Stella’s face showed regret. “We can’t spare the manpower right now. As Mac pointed out, she would be pissed if we wasted manpower to find her when we could have been looking for the bomb. Lindsay, I want you going over all of Cruz’s clothes. We need to find out where he’s been and see if maybe we can catch a break to find the bomb.”

“I’m on it,” she stated while turning into the lab. “Hey, Stel? Have you told Danny yet?”

Stella cringed. “No. I’m not looking forward to that conversation, but I wanted to get everything all set up before breaking it to him.”

Lindsay nodded her understanding as Flack put a comforting hand on Stella’s shoulder. “I’ll take care of telling Danny, Stella.”

Stella looked at Flack with gratitude shining in her eyes. “You would? Bless you.”

Flack nodded as he gave her shoulder a soft squeeze. “I’ll go right now,” he said as he began to walk away.

As Flack walked away, he grabbed his phone. After dialing a number, he waited patiently for the person to pick up the phone. “Hey, it’s Flack. I need a favor.”

\----------------------------------

Danny was still sitting in his seat an hour after Stella had left. He felt like he was in shock. He couldn’t believe that she was missing. He replayed the last time he’d seen her over and over in his head. Finally, his shock began to wear off and he picked up the phone to notify her family.

_“Hello?”_

“Alexis? It’s Danny.”

_“Hi, Danny. How are y’all doing?”_

Danny sighed. “That’s why I’m calling. Cory’s been kidnapped,” he stated bluntly.

Alexis gasped in her shock. _“What? How? When?”_

“Tonight. She was meeting with her undercover agent and she just disappeared.” Danny choked up a little bit. “The lab is working on it. We’ll find her.”

Alexis whimpered under her breath, _“No. This can’t be happening again.”_

Danny heard her quiet words. “What do you mean?”

Alexis realized the slip she had made and quickly went to deny her words. _“Nothing. I mean, she just got back from being shot and now she’s missing? What else can go wrong?”_

“Alexis? It’s more than that, isn’t it?” Danny asked suspiciously.

_“No,”_ she replied quickly. _“She just had so much bad stuff in her life recently. That’s all it is.”_

Danny felt her rebuff and his emotions overwhelmed him. He snapped, “No. That’s not all it is. What aren’t you telling me? Does it have to do with the fact that she’s being having dreams about being kidnapped as a child? Don’t lie to me, _Mrs. Reid_. It won’t do anyone any good.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone before Alexis began hesitantly. _“I’m not going to discuss this with you, Danny. It’s none of your business. I’ll be in New York tomorrow,”_ she stated simply.

“What do you mean it’s none of my business?! We’re talking about my fiancée here!” he yelled into the phone.

Alexis ignored him. _“I’ll call you when I get to the city. Good-bye.”_

Danny threw the phone across the room as Alexis hung up on him. “Damn it!” he exclaimed as the phone shattered into several pieces.

\----------------------------------

Flack walked into the small café, looking for the familiar head of dark hair. When he finally spotted the woman, he made his way over to her. “Hey, Elena. Thanks for meeting me,” he said, greeting his ex-girlfriend who happened to work for the FBI Missing Persons Squad.

“No problem,” Elena Delgado responded. “How can I help you?”

Flack nodded to her as he ordered his coffee. “Did you hear that Agent Reid was kidnapped?”

Elena’s eyes opened wide. “What?”

Flack nodded. “Yeah. That’s where I need your help. The NYPD can’t look for her because we have to find a bomb on a subway, and the other FBI teams are dedicated to that, I was hoping that your team could work on it.”

Elena thought for a moment. “Well, we did just close a case and since it’s for an FBI agent who is friends with Jack, I know we’ll take it. Just send us all the information.”

Flack shook his head. “Okay. I’m also going to send Danny over. He can’t be in the lab with all the trace evidence. But he can give you information and by doing that, keep him out of trouble.”

Elena nodded with a smile. “He is very apt to get into trouble if left alone. Listen, why don’t I send him to the office? I have faith that you can keep him under control.” Flack quickly finished his coffee and put some cash down on the table. “Thanks, Elena. I’ve got to get back and see if I can find a bomb.” 

Elena nodded as well as they both got up to leave the café.

\----------------------------------

When Cory regained consciousness, she was overwhelmed by the darkness. Gingerly she moved around, trying to figure out where she was. _What happened? I was at the zoo, meeting with Cruz but he’d been shot. Shit! There’s a bomb on the subway!_

As the memories returned, Cory tried to sit straight up, but quickly realized that it was impossible and chains bound her to a mattress. Gingerly, she pulled on the chains, trying to determine if she could work them off. Sighing in frustration, she gave up. _Okay. Take stock here. I never saw the attacker, so I’m going to assume that it’s part of Montoya’s gang. I don’t know what time it is or how long I’ve been out, but the lab must know that I’m gone by now since I called in Cruz’s gun shot. So they’ve got to be looking for me._

Cory felt a sense of relief at that. She knew that Lydia would be working on trying to find the bomb, then the lab would be working on finding her. _All I have to do is wait. Try to figure this out. Why does Montoya want me dead?_

She continued to muse along that line until she heard footsteps outside of the room she was kept in. Suddenly, the door opened up and light flooded in, blinding her. With tears streaming down her face, she blinked a couple of times to try to focus. When her sight came back, the only thing she saw was two men, in ski masks, holding automatic weapons. She studied the guns carefully and determined that they were most liked M16 assault rifles. “What do you want with me?” she asked belligerently.

The men didn’t say anything to her. One of them moved towards the bed and unhooked her chains. Cory was planning on striking out at the man as soon as her arm was free, but he kept a tight grip on them. Leaving her legs shackled together, they led her to a small bathroom.

Once inside, Cory quickly took care of her personal business and looked for anything that she could turn into a weapon. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything available. _Damn,_ she thought, _these guys are professionals._ Sighing in defeat, she made her way to the door and tried to open it, only to find it locked. Furrowing her brow, she cautiously knocked.

The door opened slowly and Cory looked out to see the two men standing there with their guns pointed at her. They motioned towards the door she had come out of, so she walked back to the room. When she got back in, she noticed that the chains on the bed had been replaced with longer chains that would allow her a little freedom of movement.

They buckled her back in and left a tray of food for her to eat. Sighing, she ate her meal quietly and pondered exactly what the kidnappers had in mind for her. _Danny, I hope you have some clue of where I am, because I am completely lost._


	41. Six Hours Missing

Chapter 41.

** Six Hours Missing **

Detective Angell stood outside of the intensive care unit at Trinity Hospital. She sighed as she stared down into her now cold cup of coffee. Taking one last look at the critically injured man, she made her way back to the coffee machine to get a refill.

“You know, you should probably get something to eat, Angell. This much coffee is not good for you.”

Angell turned around to find Hawkes staring at her. “Hey Hawkes,” she said with a yawn. “Do you have any info?”

Hawkes nodded. “Yeah. I talked to Dr. Jackson to see why such a simple injury was affecting him so severely.” 

“Really? What’s wrong?”

“Well, to start off, it looks like he was almost beaten to death a couple of hours before he was shot. The doctors found evidence that CPR was administered. They also found traces of Scopolamine in his system.”

Angell looked confused. “What’s that?”

Hawkes sighed. “It was a drug that was used in the 1950’s as a truth serum. It’s highly unreliable and causes hallucinations. Still it looks like he was tortured. His body is fighting to stay alive, but he keeps coding. Right now he’s in a coma, so hopefully his body can recover enough to bring him out of it.”

Angell bit her lip. “Let’s pray for that. We need all the information we can get. I think he might be the only one who can direct us to where the bomb is.”

Hawkes nodded. “I know. Stella and Lindsay are working on his clothes, so hopefully we can get a direction there.” Hawkes studied her. “Jessica? Get some sleep. The nurses have a lounge with a comfortable couch. Have one of them get you if his condition changes.”

Angell smiled. “Yes, Doctor,” she said in a meek voice, trying to keep a straight face. “Alright. I will. Call me if you get any info.”

“Will do,” he replied as he began to walk out of the hospital.

\----------------------------------

Taylor ran into the lab, which was bustling, out of breath. She looked around, looking for either Mac or Stella and was stunned to see how many people wearing suits were standing around. _This can’t be good,_ she thought.

Finally, she spotted both Stella and Lindsay in the trace lab and walked towards them. “Stella!” she called as she walked in.

“Hey, Taylor,” Stella replied, not looking up from the shirt that she was investigating. “Why are you here?”

“Ghost. Something about a bomb. He just said that I have to stop the bomb.” She looked at them. “You don’t by any chance know anything do you?”

Stella and Lindsay looked at Taylor in shock. Stella quickly turned to the door of the lab and closed it. “How do you know about that?” Lindsay asked in a deadly manner.

Taylor back up a step at the venom in her voice. “Same reason as always, Linds. When the hell are you going to believe me about ghosts?!”

Stella shot a warning look at Lindsay. “Listen, Taylor. There is a bomb somewhere on the subway. That’s why the FBI is here.”

Taylor felt the light come on in her head. “Good. I need to talk to Cory about something anyway. Where can I find her?” she asked. Taylor looked at both women when they began to avoid her eyes. “What’s wrong?” she asked, panic rising in her chest.

Stella exhaled slowly. “Cory’s missing. We think that she was kidnapped after she found her undercover agent had been shot.”

“Oh, God,” Taylor replied. “What do you need? Do you need any research done? I’m good for that.”

Stella shook her head, while Lindsay closed her eyes in regret. “We’re not looking for her. The bomb is more important right now,” Lindsay replied.

“What! How?”

Stella gritted her teeth. “Unfortunately, the threat to many outweighs the threat to one.” Stella held up her hand to stop Taylor from ranting. “I know, Taylor. I don’t like it either, but it’s a necessary evil.”

Taylor nodded, understanding the delicate situation. “What about…” Taylor trailed off as her ghost appeared again.

“You have to stop the bomb!” he said urgently.

Stella and Lindsay shivered in the suddenly cold air of the lab while they watched Taylor stare off into space.

“Where is the bomb?” she asked him urgently.

“Subway. I don’t know where.”

“Look,” Taylor said, amazed that he was actually answering her questions. “You’ve got to give me more than that.”

“Please. I don’t have much time. C4. The key is the C4,” he said desperately as he began to fade way. “Please, you’ve got to hurry!”

Taylor watched as he completely disappeared. She turned to Maddy, who had appeared where the man had been standing. “Maddy? What’s up with him? Normally ghosts give me completely cryptic clues. This one is flinging information at me but why doesn’t he stick around?”

“Because he can’t. He’s not actually dead yet,” Maddy explained cautiously. While she had been given leave by The Powers to shed some insight, they had told her to be very careful. She had to just give her the information that she didn’t have access to. Everything else, Taylor had to figure out on her own.

“How can a ghost not be dead?” Taylor questioned, drawing amazed looks from both Stella and Lindsay.

“That’s all I can tell you right now,” the dark haired ghost said as she disappeared.

Taylor growled in her frustration. “You know, I used to like puzzles. Now I hate them!” she exclaimed.

“Um, Taylor?” Stella began. “I might have an answer for you. Cory’s undercover agent is in critical care at Trinity. Maybe he’s the one you’re seeing.”

Taylor looked at Stella in amazement, the puzzle becoming a little clearer. “Thanks, Stella!” she called as she ran out of the room toward the elevators.

\----------------------------------

When Elena returned to her office, she quickly filled in her boss, Jack Malone, on Cory’s disappearance. “So,” she concluded. “I told Don that we would be able to work on the case. I know I don’t have that kind of authority, but since you are friends with her, I figured that I was right.”

Jack, a distinguished middle-aged man, nodded his agreement. “You are correct. Let me grab the rest of the team and then you can brief us on what information the NYPD was able to give you.”

Thirty minutes later, the entire team had assembled. Elena began her story and when she was done, noticed the determined looks all of the assembled agents.

A Hispanic man cleared his throat. “So, we need to retrace her steps,” Danny Taylor said, a steely glint in his dark eyes.

Jack nodded. “Yes. We need to get a complete history on her. I know that she was having some problems with a gang leader who had a personal vendetta, but I thought that he was in jail. I’ll request a list of open cases that she has from her boss.” Jack turned to a younger brown-haired man and a blonde woman. “Martin, Sam; go to her apartment and talk with her fiancé, maybe he can give you some insight.

Both of them nodded and retrieved their badges and guns to begin the drive. When they had left, Jack turned to an older black woman and Elena. “Vivian, I want you and Elena to start taking a look into her finances. See if there has been any unusual activity. Also, check with her family and see if you can get any information there.”

“On it right now, Jack,” Vivian said as Elena sat down at her own computer and began to pull up the files that they needed.

\----------------------------------

Danny was startled out of his shock by a knock on the door. Jumping up, he almost ran to the door. Wrenching it open, he was startled by the two unfamiliar people standing outside. “Can I help you?”

“Detective Danny Messer?” the man asked.

“Yes?” Danny asked, confused.

Sam decided to take the lead. “I’m Samantha Spade and this is Martin Fitzgerald. We’re from the FBI’s Missing Persons Squad. Detective Flack asked us to look into Cory’s disappearance, since they are a little overwhelmed at the moment.”

“I don’t understand,” Danny responded.

“They’re looking for a bomb,” Martin replied.

“What?!” Danny exclaimed.

“You didn’t know?” Martin asked in surprise.

“No. Of course, I haven’t exactly been in the loop since Stella banned me from the lab.” At both agents confused looks, he continued, “She didn’t want me to compromise the evidence.”

Sam nodded her head, understanding. “Good. That gives you enough time to fill us on Cory.” She motioned to the living room. “Can we come in?”

Danny shook his head. “Sorry, I’m a little distracted right now. I just want…I just want her to come home.”

Martin nodded. “Fill us in on what’s been going on. Does she have any enemies?”

Danny was so startled at the question, he laughed. “Of course she does. She’s very good at her job. There is one in particular. His name is Javier Montoya…” Danny sat down wearily as he began to explain the threats that Montoya had made against Cory.

Both Martin and Sam nodded as they began to take notes.

Thirty minutes later, Danny had finished. “Is there anything else you can tell us that might help us?” Sam asked.

Danny thought for a moment before sighing. “There is one thing, but I’m not exactly sure about it. She’s been having dreams about being kidnapped as a child, but she doesn’t remember anything. I called her mom to let her know that she was missing and Alexis murmured under her breath something like ‘This can’t be happening again.’ Cory did a little research in the FBI files, but she couldn’t find anything pertaining to her being kidnapped.”

Martin and Sam shared a look before Martin nodded. “We’ll definitely look into that. I do agree with you, it looks like Montoya is the most likely suspect. I’ll get with her team and get some history on him. Maybe we can find something.”

Danny nodded as the three people stood up, feeling hope begin to form in his chest. “Thanks. I’m worried about her. After the mess with Ortiz and then getting shot…this is the last thing that she needs. I do know this, though. She’s a fighter. She’ll do everything in her power to get free.”

The group shook hands as the two agents left the room.

\----------------------------------

Cory stirred restlessly on the mattress, her head spinning. _What the hell? Was I drugged?_ She tried to sit up, but a wave of nausea forced her to lie back down, her mouth dry. Succumbing to the dizziness, she allowed herself to fall back to sleep, only to be haunted in her dreams by fragments of memories.


	42. Ten Hours Missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves attention. :D I also do not own Taylor, Maddy or any characters from Without A Trace. Much love goes out to Aphina and Axellia for betaing this for me!

Chapter 42.

** Ten Hours Missing **

When Martin and Sam got back to the office, they found everyone working at a feverous pace. Jack looked up as they walked in. “Got anything?”

Martin sighed as they sat down. “A little. Her fiancé, Detective Messer, told us that she has a hit out on her life, from Javier Montoya. He’s the leader of the Los Dios drug cartel.”

Sam took up the story from there. “He also said that she might be regaining some memories of being kidnapped as a child.”

Jack shook his head. “Did the crime lab send anything over?”

Danny Taylor was the one who answered. “Not yet. They said that they will get to it when they can, but top priority right now is finding the bomb. Her entire team is out in the field right now, looking for the bomb.”

“Vivian, Elena? You get anything from her finances?” Jack asked.

“None whatsoever. No unusual deposits or withdrawals. She’s clean,” Vivian responded with a shake of her head.

Martin sighed in exasperation. “We are going to find her. She’s an FBI agent! We have to find her.”

“We’ll find her, Martin,” Jack said calmly and he started looking over the evidence. “Don’t we have access to her case files? I’m sure that her supervisor will work with us.” He turned to look at Danny. “Danny? I need you to go meet with Agent Michaels, also see what we can learn at Montoya from the drug task force.”

Danny shook his head in agreement as he walked out of the office.

(BREAK)

When Taylor ran into the hospital, she was out of breath. It was only when she slowed down that she realized that she had forgotten to tell Stella about the C4. “Damn it,” she muttered under her breath while pulling out her cell phone. As she walked into the lobby, Stella picked up her phone. “Hey Stella. It’s Taylor. I forgot to tell you something.”

_“What?”_

“He said that the key was in the C4. I hope to hell that means something to you, because it doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Stella thought for a moment. _“I think it might. Thanks, Tay.”_

Taylor murmured goodbye as she hung up and then asked the nurse where is could find Cruz.

When she got to the room, she found Angell pacing outside of it. “Hi, Jessica.”

Angell looked up in confusion. “Taylor? What are you doing here?”

Taylor thought for a moment, knowing that Angell didn’t know about the ghosts. “Just checking up on you, to make sure that you are okay. Everyone at the lab is in a crazed panic.”

Angell sighed. “Just tired. I keep waiting for him to wake up, so that we can get some information about the bomb, but he just keeps crashing. They’ve brought him back from the brink so many times,” she said, with a hint of sadness in her voice. “I hope he lives.”

Taylor watched the different emotions crossing her face, realizing that the pretty detective was attracted to the unconscious agent. She felt sympathy well up in here. “It’ll be okay, Jessica…” she trailed off as the monitors began to ring with warning bells and a team of doctor’s ran into the room.

Angell, trying to hide her tears, turned away and walked down the hall to escape from the sight. Taylor looked around for Cruz, knowing that he would appear to her, so she was not surprised when he appeared next to her.

“I don’t have much time,” he said quickly. “There’s a warehouse, on the docks. I don’t know where, but that’s where they made the bomb. They should be able to stop it, if they find that. The bomb is scheduled…” he trailed off as the doctor’s got his heart to beat again.

“Damn it,” Taylor muttered under her breath. “I’ve never wished death on anyone, but I need this information.” Taylor gritted her teeth together.

In the hospital room, the monitors began to sound the alarm again. “The bomb is scheduled to detonate at eight p.m. tonight. You have to hurry!”

Taylor turned to the spirit. “I understand. You need to get the hell back in your body and live, for Christ’s sake!”

Cruz smiled at that and glanced at the detective pacing the hall. “I know.”

Taylor smiled as she saw the attraction for Angell written on his face. “Go. We’ll find the bomb.”

Cruz nodded as he disappeared for the final time.

(BREAK)

Stella and Lindsay were still going over Cruz’s clothes. “You know what, Stell?” Lindsay asked. Without waiting for a response, she continued, “All of this trace is leading back to the docks.”

Stella nodded her agreement as her cell phone rang. “Bonasera. Hey, Taylor. Okay. Um. Yeah, I’ll pass the message along. Thanks, Tay. No, the FBI Missing Persons Squad is handling looking for her. Okay. Bye.”

Stella turned towards Lindsay. “You’re right. The docks and we have a little over twelve hours before the bomb goes off.”

Lindsay looked at Stella. “How do you know that?”

“Cruz,” was all that Stella said as she walked out of the room and towards Mac’s office. She didn’t knock when she got there, she just walked in. “Hey, Mac. Lydia. We have a lead. Somewhere on the docks is where the bomb was made. Also, Cruz gave us a deadline. Bomb is set to go off around eight p.m. this evening.”

Lydia looked at her. “Cruz woke up?”

Stella looked at Mac. “Briefly. He’s unconscious again,” she lied. “I hope you guys know of someplace on the docks where Montoya likes to hang out, because the evidence isn’t showing us a specific location.”

Lydia nodded. “There are a couple of piers that Montoya uses. I’ll get a couple of teams together, so that we can raid them. I want members of the crime lab on each team, so that we can process the evidence as we get it. Time is precious now.”

(BREAK)

Danny lay on their bed, hugging Cory’s pillow to him, trying to come up with something to help him find her. Finally, his exhausted mind shut down and he drifted off into oblivion. When he awoke, only three hours later, his mind was still foggy with the half memories that had surfaced in his dreams. He thought back to the conversation that he had with Martin and Sam, feeling a wave of anger rising at Flack for not telling him about the bomb.

Climbing out of the bed, feeling energized by the anger that he was feeling. He quickly grabbed some clothes and began to get dressed. _If they won’t let me near the evidence,_ he thought, _then I can at least go to the scene and see what I can find!_

(BREAK)

Taylor walked into the FBI Headquarters, feeling a bit of trepidation. She questioned the front desk to see where she needed to go, and soon was standing in front of an active group of people. She drew in a steadying breath and walked into the room. “Excuse me,” she asked after clearing her throat. “I’m looking for the team that is working on the Cory Reid case.”

The older gentleman raised his head. “I’m Jack Malone. How can I help you?” Jack asked, staring at the familiar looking black haired woman standing in front of him.

She smiled at him. “Taylor Turner,” she said as she stuck out her hand. 

Jack’s smile faded as he recognized her name. “Ms. Turner, I decline to comment on an on going investigation,” he said as he tried to brush her off while turning and walking away from her.

“Wait!” Taylor yelled. “I have information for you. It might help with your investigation!” Taylor tried to run after the man, who was ignoring her, but found her way blocked by two men. “Please, I can help,” she begged of them.

The Hispanic man looked at her with a little bit of sympathy. “We don’t discuss open cases with reporters unless it’s needed.”

Taylor looked at him in astonishment. “You mean, you really believe that I am here for a story?” She rolled her eyes and began to mutter under her breath, “Of all the stupid, asinine ideas! Lord, give me patience.” She looked back at the men. “Okay. I’ll admit that I am a reporter, but I never write about ongoing cases. If you’ve read my columns, then you should know that.”

Both men looked at her with skepticism in their eyes.

“Really, I promise that I am not here for a story. I’m friends with Cory,” she pleaded.

The brown haired man is the one that responded to her. “I understand, but unless we have proof then we can’t do anything.”

Taylor almost growled in frustration. “Okay. What if I have Danny vouch for me?”

“I can’t vouch for you,” the Hispanic man said.

“Huh? I mean her fiancé, Danny Messer.” She looked at him. “Your name is Danny, too?”

He laughed. “Special Agent Danny Taylor. This is Special Agent Martin Fitzgerald.”

Taylor rolled her eyes. “This is going to get confusing.” At both men’s blank look, she continued, “I’m Taylor, Cory’s fiancé is Danny, you’re Danny and then you have Danny’s boss, Mac Taylor. See what I mean?”

Both men laughed. “Yeah,” said Martin. “Why don’t you get in touch with Detective Messer and have him vouch for you. Then we should be able to convince Jack to let you help.”

Taylor nodded, feeling a little relief as she pulled out her phone. Quickly, she dialed Danny’s number, but exhaled in frustration when his voicemail picked up. “Messer! It’s Taylor. Look, I have some info that might help find Cory, but the FBI doesn’t trust me when I say that I’m not doing this for a story. Can you please call…” she trailed off as she looked at the two agents standing before her.

“Have him call me,” Martin said.

“Can you please call Martin Fitzgerald and let him know that it’s okay to talk to me?” She sighed as she hung up the phone. _Messer? Where the hell are you?_

(BREAK)

Cory shifted uncomfortably on the bed, her head still spinning. She knew that she was being drugged, but given the choice of being drugged and of starving to death, she was taking the lesser of the two evils.

Suddenly, the door opened and light flooded the room, causing her to close her eyes in pain. In her drugged state, she was no match for the two men who roughly pulled her to her feet and led her out of the door.

Shaking her head slightly, she tried to clear her head. She managed to focus enough to realize that they were not taking her to the bathroom, like they had the previous two times they had collected her. Instead, she ended up in a small room that had the windows blacked out.

None to gently, they pushed her into a wooden chair and tied her up with rope. “What are you doing?” she asked, slurring her words slightly.

The two goons didn’t answer. They just stood by the door, making sure she didn’t escape. After about five minutes, the door opened and an older Hispanic man with salt and pepper hair walked in. “Ah, Agent Reid. We meet at last,” he stated.

Cory stared in shock as her brain sluggishly tried to process where she knew the man from. Finally, the light went on in her head. “Montoya, you son of a bitch. How the hell did you get into the country without my knowledge?” she spat out with venom lacing her voice.

Montoya just laughed as she felt the pinprick of a needle entering her upper arm. Cory struggled against her bonds, but her weakened body was in no shape to fight the effects and she slipped into unconsciousness again.

(BREAK)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I know. I'm evil. (:p)


	43. Sixteen Hours Missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves the attention. :D I also do not own Taylor, Maddy or any characters from Without A Trace. Many thanks to Axellia and Aphina for being my betas!

Chapter 43.

** Sixteen Hours Missing **

Danny looked down at his cell phone, when it rang for the fifth time in the previous hour. “Damn it, Taylor. Get the hint, I don’t want to talk!” he growled as he rejected the call again. He glanced around the front of the zoo again, looking for anything that would give him a clue of where Cory had been taken.

As he stared down at the bloodstain on the concrete, his mind began to fill in what had happened. He could imagine her kneeling down next to Cruz’s body, trying to stop the blood flow. The only thing that he couldn’t reconcile was that he knew Cory would have fought back, but yet there were no signs of a struggle at the scene. 

Danny closed his eyes, trying to completely shut off his emotions so he could think rationally, but it didn’t work. Every time he tried to think about it, he couldn’t help but feel her terror. Finally, disgusted with himself, he stood up. Making up his mind, he began the long walk to the lab, confidant that he could make Mac listen to him. Let him at least look at the evidence.

(BREAK)

In the lab, Mac had joined Stella, Lindsay and the FBI agents to plan out their raid. Stella looked at Mac and said in an undertone, “Taylor said that the C4 was the key. Why?”

Mac thought carefully. “Well, as far as I know, there have been no major thefts of C4 in the US or any allies. So if we can trace what the composition of the C4 is, then we can find out who made it. The benefit of the C4 is that we can trace the chemical composition even after detonation to find out the manufacturer.”

Stella nodded as the group decided to split. Lydia was taking the lead.

“Okay. Here’s what we have. We have two different warehouses on the docks, so we are splitting into two teams. Agent Wells will lead Team One; I will be leading Team Two. I’ve split up our personnel the following way. Team One: Mac, Lindsay, Detective Maka. Team Two: Stella, Hawkes, Detective Flack. We will have the full support of the FBI SWAT team behind both teams. Everyone get ready. We leave in thirty minutes.”

The assembled group nodded at their assignments and began to prepare to the leave. Stella had just finished strapping on her bullet proof vest, when she saw Danny walk into the lab. Cursing in Greek, under her breath, she made her way towards him. “Danny? What the hell are you doing here?”

“I came to help look for Cory, Stella,” Danny replied with an edge in his voice.

Stella shook her head. “Danny? You can not be anywhere near this lab right now. You are too personally involved.” Stella paused as her phone rang. “Bonasera?”

_“Stella, it’s Taylor. Do you know where the hell Messer is?”_

“Standing right in front of me, against orders.”

_“Can you tell him to get his butt to the FBI? They won’t let me help on the case until he clears it with them and I have some information that might help.”_

“Sure thing, Taylor. I’ll send him over right now.” She shook her head as she hung up the phone and glared at Danny. “Daniel James Messer! I’m going to tell you this once and you had better listen or so help me God I will kick you from here to Texas. Taylor has been trying to get in touch with you.”

“So?” Danny replied.

“She is trying to help the FBI find Cory but since she is a reporter they are not cooperating. They want you to okay her to help. Get over there now!” Stella almost shouted with a vigorous finger point.

Danny hung his head in defeat and with slumped shoulders, followed Stella’s orders.

(BREAK)

Taylor was pacing around the FBI’s office like a caged animal. Danny watched her, with sympathy in his eyes. “Pacing is not going to make him get here any faster.”

Taylor looked at him. “I know, but it’s something to do. I hate feeling like this. God, it’s frustrating!”

Martin looked up and around Taylor to see Danny striding towards the doors with a sense of purpose. “I think your waiting is done. Here comes Detective Messer.”

Taylor let out a sigh of relief. “Messer!” she yelled as he walked in. “Why were you ignoring my calls?! I’m trying to help you find Cory,” she scolded him.

“Sorry, Drew, but how can you help?” He glanced furtively around the room as he drew up close to her. “Please tell me you haven’t seen her,” he whispered.

Taylor rolled her eyes dramatically. “No, you doofas! As far as I know she is still alive,” she concluded in her own whisper.

Danny nodded as he looked at Martin. “Hi.”

Martin smiled at him. “So she really does know you guys?”

Danny smiled. “Yeah. Her and Cory are pretty good friends.”

Taylor felt vindicated. “Thank you! So Danny, can I help now?”

“I guess.”

“Why are you asking me?”

Taylor looked around in confusion as both Danny’s spoke at the same time. She pointed to Danny Taylor. “I was talking to you,” she said as she shook her head. “Dear Lord, this is going to be confusing! Danny Messer meet Danny Taylor. What do I call you to prevent this confusion? I obviously can’t call you Taylor because that’s my name…But to call you Danny…” Taylor trailed off.

Messer laughed his first real laugh in almost a day. “Here’s what you do. You call me Messer, him Danny and we’ll call you Drew.”

Martin looked at him. “Why Drew?”

Taylor shook her head. “You don’t want to know.”

Messer smiled, “Like Nancy Drew. She likes to solve mysteries!”

Both FBI agents began to laugh, while Taylor smothered a groan. “Hello? Missing agent. Can we get back on track here?”

All three men fell silent at her words and Taylor nodded in relief. “Okay. Here’s what I have. Cory had a dream about being kidnapped, but she couldn’t find anything in the FBI files, so she asked me to see if I could find something, since I have contacts over all the country.” She withdrew a flash drive from her pocket. “May I plug this in?”

Martin nodded to her. “Sure.”

She put in the flash drive and quickly pulled up some documents. “So here is what I found. I had my friends scour the newspapers for any articles involving a kidnapping in Dallas around 1978. I got a couple of hits back. From the Dallas Morning News and from the Dallas Times Herald. The articles reference the kidnapping of a two year old Corrine Reid from a park in Dallas in October. But here is the odd thing here is, I also got a hit from the New York Times.”

“Why is that odd,” Danny Taylor asked.

“Because if a child is taken across state lines it automatically becomes a matter for the FBI. So why couldn’t Cory find any records when she searched your database?”

Martin looked at her. “That’s a really good question.” He was about to say more when Jack, Elena, Vivian and Sam walked into the room.

Jack looked at Taylor with a hint of exasperation on his face. “I thought I told you to leave?”

Taylor squared her shoulders. “And I told you that I wasn’t here for a story. I’m friends with Cory and have some information that may help to find her.”

Jack looked at Martin and Danny in disbelief. “Boss, she really can help,” Martin said with conviction. “Agent Reid had been having dreams about being kidnapped. Taylor found some supporting evidence to that, but says that Agent Reid looked in the FBI’s database but found nothing. She was just telling us about it.”

Taylor nodded as the group sat down at a round table. “So, anyway. There were references in the newspapers that she was kidnapped in Dallas, but was recovered in New York City. Why wouldn’t it be in the system?”

Jack looked at her, a little respect coming to his eyes. “How long ago was this?”

“October of 1978.”

Vivian looked at her. “Maybe it hasn’t been added to the computer yet. That was pretty long ago.”

Jack sighed. “Danny? Why don’t you and Sam go down to the archives? See if you can find something out.”

Taylor nodded, her gut telling her that it wasn’t the answer. “I’m good for research. It’s what I do best. Let me help?”

Jack shook his head. “No. You’re not an agent.”

Both Danny’s shook their heads at that. Messer looked at Jack. “Look, this is my fiancée that we are talking about. I know Taylor. She’s damn good at researching and would be useful for her to go.”

Danny Taylor looked at him. “Look Jack. She knows her stuff. Messer trusts her, the NYPD crime lab trusts her, why can’t we?”

Jack sighed. “Fine. You’re in charge of her, though.”

Taylor nearly bounced with joy as she followed the two agents out of the office and towards the archives.

(BREAK)

Lydia did a voice check with everyone. They had planned on hitting both warehouses at the same time. “Team One, Agent Wells. You guys ready?”

_“We are. We’ll go on your mark Agent Sanchez.”_

Lydia nodded as her team got into position. “Okay. On three. One. Two. Three. Go!”

Both teams entered the warehouses, guns drawn. Lydia looked around and noticed some wires and such on a table. “I think we have it!” she yelled as the team raced to secure the location. “Team One. You got anything?”

_“Other than dust, no,”_ replied Agent Wells.

“You might as well get over here after you’ve looked around. I think I found where they made the bomb.”

“Lydia! Stella!” Hawkes called out. “I have what looks like bomb making tools, plus a map of the subway.”

The team made their way to the table where Hawkes was standing. Stella looked down at the table and studied the map of the subways. “It looks like they had a couple of different locations planned out. Look, all of these locations are circled in red. I’d bet that this is where they were planning on putting the bombs. We need to process this and get everything back to the lab.” 

She quickly turned around and started issuing orders to the agents already investigating. 


	44. Twenty-Four Hours Missing

**A/N:** _Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R &R. My muse loves attention. :D I also do not own Taylor, Maddy or any characters from Without A Trace._

Chapter 44.

** Twenty-Four Hours Missing **

Cory struggled to clear the hallucinations clouding her thoughts out of her mind. The hallucinations had begun soon after she had felt the needle enter her arm. She watched as Montoya studied her, her eyes beginning to glaze over with the effects of the drug. “What did you do to me?” she slurred.

Montoya smiled evilly. “Did you know that in the 1950’s, your CIA was investigating the benefits of many drugs that could be used as a truth serum?” Cory shook her head in confusion as the drug began to dull her mind. Montoya continued, “Scopolamine was the clear leader and while research was abandoned here in the United States, it was not abandoned elsewhere in the world. This is a refined version.”

“Why,” she gasped out as her throat dried up.

“Why are you attacking me? Why are you sticking your nose into my business?” Montoya whispered harshly, inches away from her face.

“I…” Cory trailed off as a purple bunny danced around Montoya’s legs. A harsh slap to her face brought her back to reality. “I didn’t. I was after the Martinez Brothers,” she finally managed to choke out as the bunny was now hopping around the room.

Cory’s attention began to waiver again as the hallucinations increased. She could hear the drug smuggler talking, but her ears couldn’t distinguish the words. Finally, her eyes rolled back and she passed out.

(BREAK)

Stella and Mac went over all the evidence with a fine tooth comb. “I can’t figure it out, Mac. Where the hell can this bomb be?” Stella glanced down at her watch. “We have two hours until detonation to figure this out.”

Mac looked at Stella, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. “Stel? Why don’t you go grab some coffee?”

Stella looked up and noticed the concern shining in his eyes. She smiled softly. “I’m okay. There’s just not enough time.”

Mac shook his head in understanding. “I feel like we’re missing something. Everything is always connected. Where is the connection here?”

“The connection is Cory,” Danny said from the doorway.

Both Mac and Stella turned around, with matching looks of displeasure on their faces. “Danny? What are you doing here?” Mac said in a low voice.

Danny held up his hands. “I just came to help. Taylor and the FBI are searching the files for the records of when Cory was kidnapped as a child. I was at a loose end.” Danny looked at Mac, pleading with his eyes. “Let me help find the bomb. I can’t compromise that evidence.”

Mac and Stella looked at each other, silently talking with their eyes. Finally Mac relented. “Okay. Why do you think that it’s all connected to Cory?”

“Montoya put out a hit on Cory. With information that she has gotten from her informants, Cruz included, she discovered that Montoya wants her dead for a personal reason. What that reason is, only he knows.”

“So how does this help us find the bomb?” Stella asked, intrigued by Danny’s thought process.

“Do you have any possible locations?”

Mac gestured to the map of the subway spread out over the table. “About dozen possible locations. Too many for us to cover all locations, even with the FBI bomb squad helping us out.”

Danny nodded his understanding while walking towards the map. He studied it carefully before pointing to one station. “It’s that one. 96th Street Station”

Mac looked at him. “How do you know that?”

Danny sighed. “Since June, Cory’s been having dreams about a bomb on the subway. The way her dream went was that she was walking towards the subway, on her way to work, and she encounters people fleeing from this station. That’s the one that she takes to work, when she doesn’t drive. She gets off at the Brooklyn Bridge Station and walks from there.”

“Are you sure, Danny? We only have one shot at this,” Stella stated.

Danny looked both her and Mac in the eyes. “I’m sure.”

Mac nodded. “Okay. I’ll call Lydia.”

(BREAK)

An hour later, the FBI had shut down the station and cleared the area. Lydia and Mac were standing at the staging area, going over the final preparations. “Okay, we got the video footage of inside the station. There were no suspicious activities. Are you sure this is the place?”

Danny, who was standing on the sidelines, nodded his head. “It’s the dream, Lydia.”

Lydia sighed. “Alright. Agent Grayson, Agent Chen, take the dogs and see if you can find anything. Remember, we have only an hour to find and disarm the bomb.”

Both men shook their heads in understanding as they began to walk towards the station. Within minutes they were on the platform. They looked at each other and with a simultaneous nod, they went different directions; Agent Chen to the south and Agent Grayson to the north. 

Agent Chen walked slowly, allowing his dog, a beagle named Grigsby, to sniff around. The dog moved methodically, slowing down in a couple of places, but never sounding an alarm. Shaking his head, thinking that this was a wild goose chase, he grabbed his radio. “Grayson, it’s Chen. Have you found anything?”

_“Eight used condoms and four wads of chewing gum, but that’s all. You?”_

“Nothing. Agent Sanchez? Are you sure this is the place? It’s clean.”

_“I’m certain. Search harder,”_ came her response.

Both men sighed. Chen began to direct Grigsby. “Come on girl; let’s see what we can find.” He began to walk towards the tracks, deciding to check the line itself to see if anything was amiss. Carefully, he jumped down and began the trek southwards again. Almost immediately, the dog began to pull at her lease, tugging him towards the tunnel. Curious, he followed her willingly to a place about one hundred feet into the tunnel, where she began to bark.

Chen looked around in surprise, looking for anything that could contain a bomb, and then he noticed the power box. Making his way carefully to the box, he opened it, to find that it was packed with C4. “Sweet Jesus,” he muttered under his breath, as he heard the other dog also barking. He quickly grabbed his radio, noticing the timer on the explosive was at ten minutes. “Agent Sanchez. This is Chen. I found the bomb. It’s located in the power access tunnel in the southern portion of the tunnel. I estimate that there is approximated ten to fifteen pounds of C4 in the box.”

_“Copy that. I’m sending the bomb squad down right now,”_ Lydia replied in a calm tone.

“You might want to tell them to hurry. We’ve got nine minutes left until detonation.” He was pocketing the radio when he heard Grayson. 

_“This is Grayson. I also found a bomb in the north tunnel. Same type. In the power box.”_

Lydia looked at Mac in shock. “Two bombs? One on each side of the tunnel. With that amount of C4, it will collapse the tunnel if they go off.” Quickly she turned and looked at the assembled members of the bomb squad. “Alright. I need you to split into two teams. One take the north tunnel, one take the south tunnel. We’ve got two bombs, made from about ten to fifteen pounds of C4 that are set to go off in a little over eight minutes. If they detonate, then the tunnel and platform will more than likely collapse.”

The bomb squad members looked at her in shock. Then the shock wore off and two people stepped forward. One a tall dark-haired member of the NYPD bomb squad and one small blonde woman from the FBI.

The man spoke first. “I’m Detective Matt Sullivan, NYPD. I have an extensive background in defusing C4 bombs. I’m willing to go in, alone if necessary.”

Lydia nodded as she turned to the woman. “Cassie? You sure you want to do this?”

Cassandra Hill smiled. “Lydia, you know that I’m the best at this. Why don’t you have Detective Sullivan take the south tunnel and I’ll take the north.”

Matt looked at the small, delicate looking woman with respect in his eyes. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s go.” Quickly, the two grabbed their gear and with two minutes they were parting ways to enter the tunnels.

Matt nodded to Agent Chen, when he got to the location. He carefully studied the box, looking at the different color wires that made up the bomb. “Cassie? What do you see,” he asked over the radio.

_“The C4 is packed into all the crevices of the power box. The detonator looks to be at the base. Does that match what you have?”_

“Yeah. This is sure one hell of a complicated bomb, and we only have three minutes to disarm them. Do you think that there are any traps?” he asked, while checking for wires that could possible alter the detonation timer.

_“I’m not sure. Does yours have two yellow wires?”_

“Yeah. That’s odd. Let me look at this further.” He reached up and began to separate the mass of wires, trying to locate where each one went. He muttered under his breath as he realized that the bomb had multiple triggers. “It has multiple triggers. I see both a timer trigger and a remote access trigger.”

_“Shit. I just saw that. Okay. The bomber is expecting it to blow in two minutes. That gives us that amount of time to deactivate both the triggers. Personally, I think I’ll deactivate the remote trigger first. That way the bomber can’t trigger it remotely when it doesn’t go off.”_

Matt nodded to himself as he traced the wires. “Got it. I think I see how we need to do this. Cut the wires in this order. Blue, red, the yellow one at the base of the bomb and then the green one. I think that should disable all the triggers so then we can remove the detonator.”

_“Roger that.”_

Matt quickly began to cut the sequence of wires, feeling the pressure as the time clicked down to thirty seconds. As he cut the green wire, the timer stopped, with five seconds to spare. Sighing in relief at the lack of explosion to the north of him, he realized that Cassie must have had the same success. With speed, he removed the detonator and then began the process of removing the power box, so the bomb could be analyzed.

Above ground, Lydia breathed a sigh of relief when both members of the bomb squad confirmed that the bombs had been disabled. “The threat is over. Detective Sullivan and Agent Hill have disarmed the bombs,” she said with a smile.

There was a quick cheer before Lydia held her hand up. “Okay guys. Business first.” She turned to Mac. “How quickly can your team analyze the evidence so we can find Cory?”

Mac looked her in the eyes. “We’ll get on it right now. If you want, you can also send the bomb components to us and we’ll work on that as well.”

Lydia nodded, knowing that the NYPD lab was one of the best. “I’ll do that.” As Mac turned away she put a hand on his arm. “Call me the minute you know anything about Cory, please.”

Mac nodded. “Of course,” he said before walking towards the SUV with Stella and Danny.


	45. Forty-eight Hours Missing

**A/N:** _Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R &R. My muse loves attention. :D I also do not own Taylor, Maddy or any characters from Without A Trace. Much thanks to both Aphina and Axellia for keeping me on track (and making the story better!). _

Chapter 45.

** Forty-eight Hours Missing **

Angell was sitting beside Cruz’s bedside, half asleep when she heard a gasp. Her eyes shot open as she automatically reached for her gun, drawing it in one smooth motion. She looked around the room to find that no one else was there, so she looked at Cruz. “Iggy?” she said softly.

Cruz opened his eyes and noticed the dark haired detective that had been haunting his dreams looking at him. “Ovidio. My name is really Ovidio,” he whispered. “Where am I?”

Angell looked at him. “Trinity Hospital. Do you remember what happened?” she asked as she held a cup with water in it to him.

“Cover blown. I tried to warn Cory. It gets fuzzy after that part,” he admitted.

Angell sighed, sensing that he didn’t know much about Cory’s abduction. “Somehow you made it to Central Park Zoo. Cory called in an officer down, but when the paramedics got there, they only found you.”

Cruz tried to sit up, cursing, but dropped back down to the bed when pain lanced his shoulder. “Is she okay?”

Angell looked over his head. “I don’t know,” she said softly.

Another thought entered his head. “The bomb! I have to warn you! There’s a bomb somewhere on the subway.”

Angell smiled. “We found it and disabled it. Right now, the crime lab is trying to trace the C4 to find out where it came from and try to track down Cory. We think Montoya is the one who took her. Where would they hide her?”

Cruz shook his head in frustration. “I don’t know. The only place where I met the gang was down on the docks.”

“Damn,” Angell whispered. “Okay. I’m going to get the doctor, to tell him that you’re awake. I’ll be right back,” she said as she rose from her chair and walked towards the door.

(BREAK)

Taylor sneezed for the fifth time in a row as another cloud of dust enveloped her. She had dirt smudges on her cheek and dark circles under her eyes. “How many more boxes?” she asked.

Danny Taylor and Sam looked at her in sympathy. They had been looking at the records for close to twenty-four hours, and the lack of sleep was becoming evident. Sam sighed, pushing her blonde hair out of her face. “I don’t know. I thought that this was logically organized, but the bureaucracy proves me wrong again!”

Taylor felt her eyes crossing as she glanced at a case file again, her tired brain barely registering the words on the page. She was just about to drop the file into the read pile when the words penetrated the fog in her mind. “I think I found something,” she called out, feeling some sort of hope rising in her chest.

Knowing that she was too tired to try to make sense of the document, she handing it over to Martin, who quickly skimmed it.

“Martin? What does it say?” Sam asked.

Martin looked up, a frown line appearing between his eyebrows. “It references the case, but it says that all documents pertaining to is were destroyed. On purpose.”

Sam shook her head in confusion. “Why?”

Martin looked down at the paper again. “All records pertaining to the kidnapping of Corrine Reid are to be destroyed by ordered by the Director of the FBI.”

Both Taylor and Sam looked at him in shock. “The Director of the FBI ordered for the files to be destroyed? Why?” Taylor asked.

Martin just shook his head. “I have no clue. Are her parents still living?”

Taylor looked at him. “Her mom is. Her dad was killed by an assassin hired by Montoya.”

Sam knew where Martin was going with this. “We need to talk to her mom,” she said standing up.

Taylor nodded and joined the two agents who were beginning to walk to the elevator.

(BREAK)

When Mac, Stella and Danny arrived back at the crime lab, they found Alexis waiting for them. She walked over to them, avoided the glare Danny sent her, and asked, “Have you found my daughter?”

Danny ground his teeth together, remembering their last conversation. “Mrs. Reid,” he said in an icy tone. “Are you ready to actually tell us the truth now?”

Mac and Stella looked at him in surprise. “Danny? Can I talk to you a second?” Mac asked in a low tone after he shot Stella a look.

Stella nodded and drew Alexis to the break room. 

Danny turned to Mac. “Okay.”

“Why are you acting so cold to Alexis?” Mac queried.

Danny sighed. “When I called to tell her that Cory had been kidnapped, she said something like “This can’t be happening again”. I questioned her about it and she told me it was none of my business,” he stated simply.

Mac nodded, understanding both Danny’s side as well as Alexis’ side of the conversation. He was about to tell Danny that he would take care of it, when his cell phone rang. “Taylor.”

_“Mac, it’s Taylor. Listen; do you know how to get in touch with Cory’s mother? We did discover that she was kidnapped as a child, but the FBI destroyed the files. She might be the only person who knows what happened.”_

“Actually, Taylor, she is sitting in our break room.”

Taylor looked at her phone in shock at the timing. _“I’ll get the FBI over there right now then,”_ she said as she hung up.

Mac looked at Danny. “You might get your answers now. That was Taylor. She’s bringing the FBI to us, to find out about Cory’s kidnapping as a child.”

Danny nodded; feeling like this would bring them closer to finding Cory.

(BREAK)

Alexis looked around at the gathering of NYPD and FBI. She sighed, knowing that she was going to have to reveal her greatest sin. As everyone settled in, she waited for the hard questions to come.

Jack Malone is the one who began the questioning. “Why does the FBI have no records of Cory being kidnapped,” he asked in a calm voice.

Alexis sighed before responding. “To get to that, I need to go back to the beginning.” She saw the nods as she drew another steadying breath. “Cory’s father, Harold, and I had an arranged marriage. We were friends, but I was not pleased by being forced to marry him. So, I rebelled. A few months after we married, I met a man. Alejandro. After about a month, I gave into my desires, and almost brought the downfall to my family. I began an affair with him.”

Danny felt himself being drawn into the story, against his better judgment, so when Alexis stopped, he prompted her to continue. “Please continue,” he said softly.

Alexis nodded, encouraged that Danny wasn’t yelling at her. “I was with him for a year; we had planned to run away to Paris together. The day before I was going to leave Harold, I found out that I was pregnant with Cory. I had only had unprotected sex with Harold, so I was pretty sure that he was the father. I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t keep his child away from him, so I went to the hotel in which Alejandro was staying and broke it off.”

Mac and Jack both nodded. “Alexis? How does this pertain to Cory’s kidnapping?” Mac asked.

Alexis got up and began to pace around the room. “I’m getting to that. After I broke it off with Alejandro, I came clean with Harold. He forgave me and we began to actually fall in love. A couple of years later, we had Elizabeth.”

She looked at Jack. “The reason that the files about her abduction were destroyed was because we requested it. Harold’s family was good friends with the Director and he decided to honor our wishes.”

Danny Taylor looked at her. “So tell us about the kidnapping.”

“When the weather was nice, I always took the girls to the park. On October 14, 1978, Alejandro kidnapped Cory. I was terrified when I looked up and saw that she was gone. The first thing I did was call the police. They didn’t find any evidence. We blanketed the city with her picture, our pleas for her safe return, but nothing. Weeks passed and with each hour she was gone, the hope that we would find her alive diminished. Then on Thanksgiving Day, I got a call. It was Alejandro. He told me that if I wanted Cory back safe, then I had to come to New York, alone, and then we would fly off to Paris like planned. I told Harold, who contacted the FBI.” Alexis shuddered at the memories enveloping her.

Stella got up and put her arms around the shaking woman. “It’ll be okay. Please, I know that this is hard, but I think it’s important that you go on.”

Alexis nodded, visibly trying to pull herself back together. “When I got to New York, I made contact with him as promised. He told me to meet him at Central Park Zoo at eight p.m.” She stopped as a collective gasp echoed in the room. “What?”

Danny felt his heart drop and with a shaking voice he answered her question. “That’s where she was kidnapped from.”

Alexis closed her eyes, feeling grief wash over her. “Dear Lord. It’s him. It’s Alejandro. He’s the one who’s taken her.”

Martin looked at her. “That’s not what the evidence is telling us. The evidence is pointing to a drug cartel that she was investigating.”

“It’s got to be him. I promised to meet him, at the zoo, but I didn’t. I had him tell me where Cory was and the FBI got her out, so I never showed. The FBI was there, but he evaded their arrest and left the country. We could only guess that he went back to Colombia, where he was from.”

Lydia’s head rose at that statement. “Alejandro was from Colombia? Do you know his last name?”

Alexis thought for a moment. “Guerrero. Alejandro Guerrero.”

Lydia withdrew a folder from her briefcase. “That sounds familiar. I don’t know where I’ve heard that name before,” she muttered while poring over the papers. “Ah-ha! Montoya’s full name is Javier Alejandro Guerrero Montoya. So we are looking for the same person.”

Hawkes nodded, an idea coming to his head. “If I may?” he asked. “I think it safe to assume that the man is deranged. What’s to say he won’t revisit the same path? He is ultimately trying to get Alexis back. Harold was the one that was murdered, not Alexis and now Cory is kidnapped when she could have been easily killed? I don’t believe that Montoya will actually kill Cory until he has Alexis with him. I think that he will go the same route; he’ll contact Alexis again and trying to get her to run away with him.”

Lindsay nodded. “That makes sense. Everything he has done as been to get Alexis back to him.” She sighed. “That means we have more time. We can try to find out where she is being held and once he contacts Alexis, we can try to save her.”

Danny looked around the room; feeling in his heart that time was short. He began to pace, like a restless lion in a cage. “Mac, we have to find her. We have to.”

Mac stood and put his hand on Danny’s arm, stopping his pacing. “We’ll find her, Dan. We’ll find her.”

Danny looked at Mac, wanting to believe him, but just as Alexis described, he was losing a little bit of that hope as every minute passed.


	46. Fifty-Six Hours Missing

**A/N:** _Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R &R. My muse loves attention. :D I also do not own Taylor, Maddy or any characters from Without A Trace. Again, many thanks to Aphina and Axellia for betaing for me! _

Chapter 46.

** Fifty-Six Hours Missing **

When Cory awoke the next time, her head was still spinning. Carefully, she moved her head around, accessing the room she was in. It was windowless, with a single bulb handing down in the center, above the wooden chair she was tied to. Cautiously, she tested the ropes, trying to break free of them. Finally, she gave up, when she felt blood trickling down her arms.

As she took in more of a breath, she called out, “Armando!” Her dead friend appeared almost instantly, and Cory looked at him. “Can you help me out here?”

Sadly, Armando shook his head. “I can’t interfere. Things are not to the point where humans can no longer affect the outcome. Until that time is reached, my hands are tied.”

Cory sighed, not surprised. “So why can I talk to ghosts now.”

Armando smiled, knowing that she was trying to overcome the effects of the drug. “Honestly? I think it was so that you could talk to your aunt. That was the most important reason. Not that I don’t think that your gift won’t come into play again, but you’re not like Taylor. It’s not your job to cross them over by solving their murders.”

Cory breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks for that,” she breathed as she heard the door opening again.

Armando disappeared as Montoya entered the room again. Cory glared at him, defiance showing in her body language.

“Let me the hell go, Montoya. You’re only making things worse for yourself,” she spat.

Montoya just began to laugh. “Oh, I’m so scared. Your government hasn’t been able to touch me for the last thirty years; what makes you think that they’ll be able to do anything now?”

“Fuck you.”

“That’s your mother’s job,” he replied with a smirk.

Cory’s eyes opened wide. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Montoya pretended to be shocked. “Oh, what. She didn’t tell you?” At Cory’s lack of response he continued. “I love your mother. She is the missing piece of my heart and you are responsible for breaking it.”

Cory looked at him, in shock and confused. “How?”

Montoya glared at her. “Because when she found out she was pregnant with you, she left me,” he said with venom in his voice. “Now, I’ll finally have her. You see, I’m going to trade you for her. Once she is with me in Paris, I’ll tell her where to find you. Unfortunately by the time that happens, you’ll be dead.”

Cory stared at him, hatred burning in her. “She’ll never do that. She’ll never agree to meet you.”

“She did once before. Unfortunately, the FBI found you before the meeting,” he said while walking over to her.

Cory tried to work out what he was saying and work through the memories that were resurfacing. Memories of him standing over her, offering her candy. As the needle entered her arm, she gasped. “You kidnapped me. When I was a child.”

Montoya just laughed as he emptied the syringe into her vein. “I have to go now. I have a call to make,” he said, strolling out of the room.

(BREAK)

Danny was sitting in the break room, staring into a cup of coffee, when Alexis walked in. “Danny? May I talk to you?”

Danny glanced up into her tired face. “Yeah.”

Alexis sat down, opposite of him and looked him in the eyes. “I’m sorry. I never should have lashed out at you. You were only trying to help, but I didn’t want my mistake to affect her life.”

Danny nodded. “I understand, but with the information that you just gave us, we could be having more success in finding her earlier.”

Alexis acknowledged the jab with a nod. “I was in denial.”

“Is there anything that you can tell us about the initial kidnapping that could help us find her? Do you know where she was kept the first time?”

Alexis closed her eyes, bringing the horrific memories back. “I’m not sure where he kept her the first time. The FBI found her at a diner; something which was a jab at me.” At Danny’s confused look, she continued, “We met in a diner in Dallas. But the diner that she was found in was closed down a couple of years before he put her there.”

Danny sensed that this might be a clue. “Where was it?”

Alexis shook her head in frustration. “I don’t know!”

Danny sighed in defeat. “And the records of where she was found were destroyed,” he said in disgust as he stood from the table and walked out of the room.

Alexis just stared at her hands, feeling guilty. Wearily, she reached for her cell phone when it began to ring. “Hello?”

“ _Hola, mi querida. I’ve missed you.”_

Alexis felt her heart jump into her throat. “Alejandro. Where is Cory?”

Montoya laughed. _“_ _Mi querida. Don’t expect me to fall for that a second time. I’ll only tell you where your daughter is after we are together again.”_

Alexis looked around in panic and he continued, “ _You should be receiving a delivery in the next couple of minutes. Inside the package is a plane ticket to Paris. The flight leaves in two hours. Once you safely land, I’ll call you with more instructions. If you don’t show, she dies.”_

Alexis began to shake as he disconnected the call. She was still shaking when Mac and Jack walked into the room. “Alexis?” Mac asked. “You just got a delivery.”

Alexis nodded. “Alejandro just called. It’s a plane ticket to Paris. If I’m not on that flight, he’ll kill Cory.”

Mac’s eyes widened in shock. “What?”

Alexis drew a deep breath, trying to calm herself. “He won’t tell me where she is until I’m in Paris.”

Jack looked at her. “Mrs. Reid. You know that he’s going to kill her anyway, right? Getting on that plane won’t change anything.”

Alexis looked at him, fury on her face. “I know that, but if I go, it gives you more of a chance to find her.” She took the package from Mac. “Don’t try to stop me. I’m going. Tell Cory that I love her and to be happy,” she said as she walked out of the lab with purpose.

(BREAK)

Danny was pacing around the lab, trying to analyze the evidence in his mind. He was so lost in thought that he ran into Taylor. Startled, he looked up in apology. “I’m sorry, Taylor. Trying to work something out in my head.”

Taylor looked at him, sympathy in her eyes. “Want to talk about it?”

Danny nodded. “Yeah. I think I do. Alexis said that the FBI found Cory in a diner, but she couldn’t remember where it was. I think that it might be where he’s keeping her now. She mentioned that it had been closed for several years before the kidnapping.”

Taylor bit her lip, her mind whirling. “Why don’t I do some research? Maybe I can find something from the papers. I mean, the FBI might be able to destroy their files, but they can’t destroy the papers.”

Danny smiled as he felt a glimmer of hope rise in his chest and turned to follow her jog to the AV lab.

(BREAK)

Cory looked around the room, the purple bunny was back. Grimacing, she tried to figure out how long she had been held captive, but with so many periods of blankness, she had no idea. The Scopolamine was taking a stronger hold when Montoya walked back in the room. 

“You don’t know your mother as well as you think, little girl. She’s following my instructions to the letter. In ten hours, I’ll have my heart back and unfortunately, you’ll be dead.” Montoya leaned over her again, showing her another syringe. “Say hello to your father for me,” he said as he injected the drug into her.

After he was done, he looked at the man standing guard. “I’ll call you when I get to Paris. When I do, kill her. If she begins to awake, give her another injection.”

The man nodded at his instructions. “Of course, sir. Have a nice flight,” he said with a nod as he turned to watch Cory, who was trying to fight off the drugs, but was losing the battle.


	47. Sixty-Six Hours Missing

**A/N:** _Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R &R. My muse loves attention. :D I also do not own Taylor, Maddy or any characters from Without A Trace. Okay, due to the fact that the show just revealed that Angell's name is actually Jessica, so occasionally, I'll be referring to her as either Jessica or Jess. Just to let y'all know!! Many thanks to Axellia and Aphina for betaing this!!_

Chapter 47.

** Sixty-Six Hours Missing **

Taylor stretched, popping the tension out of her back for the fifth time. 

“You should take a break,” Danny said without looking up.

Taylor turned and looked at him. “Are you?” she asked in incredulity.

“Naw,” he replied. “I’m not going to take a break until I find her.”

Taylor smiled. “Then neither am I.” With that comment, she began to skim the ninth newspaper. She felt her eyes begin to cross and she continued to read about the Stock Market. “Geez. If I read one more word about stock price fluctuations, I may go mad!”

Danny chuckled a little, understanding her. “At least you have stock. I’m reading some crap from the society pages!”

Both grew silent as they tried to find any hint of where the diner was that Cory was found in. Finally, after a couple of hours, Taylor drew in a sharp breath.

Danny looked at her, in expectation. “You find something?”

Taylor furrowed her brow, nodding. “I think so. Here’s a blurb buried on the eighth page. “Missing Dallas girl found in abandoned dinner on Webster. Two year old Corrine Reid, abducted in October from a park in Dallas, Texas was found safe and sound yesterday at the abandoned McAllister Diner on Webster St. Her suspected abductor, Alejandro Guerrero, escaped capture by the FBI and is still at large. Her parents, Harold and Alexis Reid, refused to comment on the matter.” Hm. That’s all.” She turned to Danny. “Do you know where that is?”

Danny turned to the computer and began punching in the keys. “I will in a second,” he said grimly.

(BREAK)

Mac directed the team to begin to work at a feverish pace as soon as Alexis left the building. He knew that they had a ten hour deadline to find Cory before Montoya killed her. With panic and worry spurning them on, the team and Lydia tried to make some sense of the evidence that they had.

Finally, five hours later, Taylor and Danny came running up to Mac. “Mac!” Danny yelled breathlessly. “I think we might have it. Taylor found where Cory was found the first time. It was a diner in the Bronx. A year after Cory was found, it was renovated into a meat market and it’s been abandoned for the last year.”

Mac nodded and picked up his phone to call Lydia. 

(BREAK)

Lydia had just finished coordinating all the raids on the know properties owned by members of the Los Dios cartel. Every team leader had checked back in saying that there was no sign of Cory. Sighing in her frustration, she put her head on the desk. _What would Cory do in this situation,_ she kept asking herself.

She was gnawing on a fingernail when she received an email from Alistair Murphy, Cory’s Interpol contact. Sighing, praying for good news, she opened the email. Skimming though the email, she found that they did not have any news on Cory, but he promised to have agents posted at De Gaulle Airport to follow Alexis.

Lydia pursed her lips as her phone rang. “Sanchez,” she answered.

_“Lydia. It’s Mac. We have a lead on Cory. The diner where she was kept as a kid was turned into a meat market on Webster St. It’s been abandoned for about a year now. How soon can you get a team together?”_

Lydia felt a glimmer of hope flutter into her chest as she mentally went through the team list. “Give me an hour. I’ve got people coming back in from raids. Let me pull some together to make a team.”

Mac nodded as he replied, _“All right. Let’s meet at Webster and 166 th. The location is just north of there.”_

“You got it. I’ll contact Jack and his team, too,” Lydia replied as she hung up the phone.

(BREAK)

Alexis calmly walked onto the plane, trying to keep her emotions in check. She knew that unless the crime lab managed to pull off a miracle, she would never see her oldest daughter again. She began to replay the last conversation in her head, berating herself for the way she had told Cory about the affair. She kept trying to second guess herself, trying to figure out if she could have changed things.

How was she supposed to know that her ex-lover was actually the leader of a dangerous Colombian drug cartel? She sighed as she settled into her seat, snapping the seatbelt into place. _I made my bed by having that affair,_ she thought to herself, _now I need to lie in it._

She closed her eyes, not expecting to sleep, but wanting to avoid conversations with any other passengers or the crew. The vibrations of the engines lulled her, but her mind refused to shut down. Lost in thought, she never realized when the plane took off.

(BREAK)

Lydia, Mac and Jack stood in a group together, just outside of the communications van. They had their heads bowed in deep conversation as they tried to plan the raid. 

“All right,” Lydia said. “Jack and I managed to get the blueprints sent to us. Look at this.” She pointed to the two entrances to the shop. “There are only two doors, but there are a multitude of windows that allow easy access to the street. The plan is to take two teams through the door, but leave enough people out on the street to catch anyone who tries to escape.”

Mac nodded. “NYPD can take care of that for you. If Cory is in there, then the more manpower that we have, the better. Montoya is out for her blood and has been for her entire life.”

“Agreed,” said Jack. “Let’s split up into teams.”

Quickly the assembled agents split into two teams, while Flack directed the uniforms to begin surveillance on the building. He also made sure that Danny was tucked safely into the van, listening to the chatter on the radio. Once completed, he joined the team that Lydia was leading. Mac was with Jack’s team.

Grimly, they strapped on their vests and checked their guns. Lydia made eye contact with everyone on her team and once she had received a nod from each one of them, made a motion to begin to creep up on the building.

Once at the door, she carefully tested the handle, unsurprised to find that the door gave her no resistance. She cautiously opened the door; Flack preceded her into the building. Once inside, she resisted the urge to sneeze at the cloud of dust that enveloped them. 

“Clear,” said Flack as they cleared the front room and the bathrooms of any signs of life.

“Jack? Do you have anything?” Lydia asked through her mike.

_“We’re in what appears to be a storage room. We’ve found a bed with a mattress and signs that someone was being held here. There are chains attached to the bed frame. Mac is calling in his team to process the evidence right now.”_

Lydia and Flack looked at each other, their hearts plummeting. “This can’t be good,” she muttered as they made their way back to the room.

Stella and Hawkes made their way into the room. Both of them made mental notes of what they saw. The dirty mattress, with the chains attached to the bed frame was the only thing in the barren room. With a nod, Stella walked over to the bed and inspected the chains. “I think I see blood on these,” she said as she knelt down. Competently, she snapped open her kit and withdrew a swab. She ran the cotton around the cuff and then dropped some phenolphthalein on it. “Positive for human blood,” she said with concern in her voice.

Hawkes’ head shot up at that. “There is nothing else in the room. It looks like someone was kept on the bed, but until we get the DNA tests back, we won’t know if it was Cory for sure or not.

“Hawkes?” Mac asked as he walked into the room. “You found Scopolamine in the syringe at the abduction site, didn’t you?” Hawkes nodded. “I just found a bottle of it, in the next room over. I think it is safe to say that this is where she was being held, but where is she now?”

Hawkes looked around the room. “Maybe the evidence will tell us something.”

(BREAK)

As expected, Alexis didn’t sleep on the trans-Atlantic flight; she was too worried about if the lab was going to find Cory before she landed. Nervously, she picked at imaginary lint on her pants, trying to keep from going crazy. 

Finally, the announcement came on stating that they were about to land. She buckled the seat belt and prepared to land in De Gaulle airport. Once off of the plane, she turned her cell phone back on and dialed Mac’s number.

_“Taylor.”_

“It’s Alexis. Have you found her yet?”

_“We’ve had some leads. We did find the diner where she was held as a child, but it looks like that they only kept her there for maybe a day. Stella and Hawkes are processing the scene and we hope that it will lead us to where she is being held now. Any sign of Montoya?”_

Alexis sighed. “I just got off the plane, but not yet. I’m worried. I don’t want to be here, but it was the only way to give y’all the time you need to find my daughter. Before he kills her.” Alexis lowered her voice, allowing a hint of panic to creep into her tone. “You don’t have much time, Detective. Please find her.”

Mac could feel her fear radiating through the phone. _“I will, Alexis. I promise,”_ he said trying to reassure her. 

“Thanks, Mac. I’ll call back when I can,” she said before disconnecting the call. She walked through customs and went to claim her baggage. She kept her cell phone in her hand, expecting a phone call from Montoya, so she was surprised when she heard her name being paged. She walked up to the counter only to find a man waiting for her. 

“Madame Reid? I am Michel. I will be your driver. _S’il vous plait,_ let me get your luggage,” he said.

Alexis nodded numbly, allowing him to take her things. Quietly, she followed him out to the waiting Mercedes limousine. He opened the door for her and she slid in murmuring, “ _Merci beaucoup._ ” When she settled in, she noticed a man sitting in the seat across from her. “ _Bonjour.”_

“ _Bonjour_ , Madame Reid. I am Etienne. I will be your guide. May I offer you a glass of champagne?”

“Thank you,” Alexis said as she accepted the glass. “Where are we going?”

Etienne smiled. “I am to take you on a tour of the city before taking you to your hotel,” he stated.

Alexis looked at him, on edge. She decided to play Montoya’s game for the moment. “All right. What do we get to see first?”

Etienne topped off her glass of champagne. “Michel? _L’Arc de Triomphe, s’il vous plait.”_

Alexis looked out the window at the passing cars as they drove into the city, her eyes growing heavy, before finally falling asleep. 

Etienne watched her battle the sleep and carefully extracted the glass from her hand, slowly pouring his own untouched glass of champagne out the window when they stopped.

(BREAK)

Lydia was still at the scene, watching the CSI’s process when her phone rang. “Sanchez.”

_“Agent Sanchez, this is Alistair Murphy. I have some news for you.”_

Lydia felt her heart speed up at the tone of his voice. “What’s wrong?”

_“The surveillance team lost Alexis. She was greeted by a driver at the airport, and got into a waiting limousine, whose license plate was unfortunately covered by mud. They lost them in traffic. I’ve contacted the hotel where we had found her registered at, and the only thing we found was her luggage and cell phone. I’m sorry, Agent Sanchez.”_

Lydia began to curse under her breath. “Thank you, Mr. Murphy. Call me if you find anything out.”

Mac looked up. “Bad news?”

She nodded. “The surveillance team that Interpol had on Alexis has lost her. She’s in the wind, Mac. The time frame just got even tighter. We will have no idea of when she meets up with Montoya.”

Mac closed his eyes and drew a steadying breath. “We’ll find her, Lydia. We have to.”


	48. Seventy-Two Hours Missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves attention. :D I also do not own Taylor, Maddy or any characters from Without A Trace. Many thanks to Aphina and Axellia for betaing this!

Chapter 48.

** Seventy-Two Hours Missing **

When Alexis awoke, she was surprised to find herself on a boat. _What the hell? I was in Paris!_ She sat up carefully, noticing that she was not bound in any way. She got out of bed, swaying a bit with the motion of the boat and made her way to the door, only to find it locked. Frustrated, she walked around the room, investigating it. She didn’t found any luggage, so she sat down on the bed and began to wait, her anger rising.

About an hour passed before she heard someone come to the door. She jumped up as the locked turned and glared at Etienne as he walked in.

“ _Bonjour,_ Madame Reid. Will you come with me please?” he asked.

Alexis glared at him, bristling at his casual tone. “No. Where the hell am I?”

Etienne’s smile faded as he looked at her. “It is not my place to tell you anything. I will not ask you again, come with me.”

Alexis took in the hard look on his face and sighed. “Fine. Take me to Alej…I mean Montoya.”

Etienne nodded as he preceded her out of the room. Alexis followed him along the twisting corridors of the boat before they stopped outside of a small salon. Etienne motioned her in. “All of your questions will be answered here,” he said with a formal bow before walking away.

Alexis drew a steadying breath before walking in and finding Montoya standing beside a wet bar, pouring her a glass of brandy. “Alexis,” he said with a smile. “Brandy?”

Alexis eyed the alcohol with trepidation. “Is it drugged?” she said sarcastically. 

Montoya shrugged before taking a drink of the liquid. “No. Does that make you feel better?”

“No. I want to talk to my daughter.”

“ _Mi quierda,_ you wound me. I will let you see her, but only after we get a chance to catch up on lost time.”

Alexis stared at him, shocked that he expected them to pick up where they left off. “You really are insane, aren’t you? Do you really think that I have any positive feeling left for you? The day that I love you again will be the day that hell freezes over.”

Montoya got a hard look in his eyes. “I will have you again, whether it be by choice or by force. You can not deny me this. Now sit down, tell me about your life and maybe I’ll let your daughter live.”

Alexis took a step back, feeling trapped. “Nothing to tell other than the fact that I fell in love with a wonderful man, had two beautiful children with him and then found out that my ex-lover wants to kill my oldest daughter,” she said with a sneer, trying to win the battle of words.

“Aw, don’t be bitter, my love. We’re together again.”

“Why, Alejandro? Why are you doing this to my family?” she pleaded.

Montoya looked out the window, watching the choppy seas. “I wasn’t supposed to take over the business,” he began quietly. “The day you left me I found out that my brother, Rafael, had been killed by a rival gang. My mother was devastated. She begged me to come home and take over the business, even though I didn’t want to. If you hadn’t left me, I never would have done it.”

Alexis shook her head. “Don’t blame me for what you’ve become. If you truly didn’t want to, you could have found a way around it, Alejandro. Instead you’ve become the one thing I hate the most. A person who caters to peoples addictions for money. You and you alone are responsible for the decisions that you’ve made. Can I talk to my daughter now?”

Montoya shook his head and walked over to a plasma television. He turned it on and a picture sprung to life. “Take a good look, my love. This is the last time you will see her. We will never be parted again.”

Alexis stared at the screen, seeing Cory bound to a chair and unconscious. She could tell she was still alive by the steady rise and fall of her chest. She felt tears coming to her eyes, thankful that she was still alive and knowing that the more time that she gave the lab, the more likely it was that they would find her. _Please God, let them find her. I don’t care about me, but don’t make her pay for my mistakes._

“Now, let me show you the yacht,” he said before quickly typing a message into his Blackberry. _“Kill her.”_

(BREAK)

Mac and Jack stood around watching the lab work busily process what little trace that they found at the former diner. All of the team were sporting dark circles under their eyes and seemed to be living on coffee.

Jack took in the sight. “Are they always this dedicated?” he asked.

Mac looked up. “Dedicated, yes. To the point of exhaustion, sometimes, but they know that if they don’t find Cory alive, Danny might not survive.”

Jack smiled. “Cory’s become an important part your team’s lives, hasn’t she?”

“Yes. She’s not bad for a Fed. Generally when the FBI gets involved with a case, the lab goes on edge, unless it’s her. She never tries to take over the case; she’s just willing to let us do our job.”

Jack smiled. “Yeah. I met her a couple of times when she still worked in Dallas and she is the consummate professional. I’ve always told her that I didn’t ever want to look for her.”

Mac was about to reply when Lindsay and Stella walked up. He turned his attention to them. “Did you find something?”

Stella nodded wearily. “We found traces of beef, pork and chicken meat and sawdust.”

Jack looked at them. “Well, it was a meat market,” he said.

“Yeah, but this was relatively fresh,” Lindsay replied. “This market has been closed for a year.”

Mac’s mind was working in overdrive. “So if you found fresh meat products and traces of sawdust, then that points to another meat market.”

Everyone nodded as Hawkes, Flack and Danny walked up. “Mac? It’s was Cory’s DNA on chains. She was definitely held there. I also tested the Scopolamine and it’s a match to what we found in the syringe. Which, I did some more research and this is a strain of the drug that produced in Iran.”

“Iran?” Mac asked in shock.

Hawkes nodded. “Yeah, just like the C4. So what I conclude from this is that Montoya is definitely working with the Iranians.”

“So it is possible that there is more going on here than him kidnapping her for revenge,” Jack murmured. “I’ll inform Lydia of this.”

Flack looked around. “Where is Lydia?”

Mac looked at him. “She went to talk to an informant, to see if he knows of any possible locations that Montoya could be holding her.”

(BREAK)

Gabriel was waiting patiently for Lydia when she walked in. “Always a pleasure, Agent Sanchez. What can I do for you?”

Lydia smiled as she sat down. “Agent Reid has been kidnapped, Gabriel. We think by Montoya. Do you know where he might keep her?”

“I don’t know. He had a place down on the docks. A couple of apartments in various parts of the city. He could have taken her back to Colombia, for all I know,” he stated simply.

Lydia shook her head. “We checked all of those places, nothing. Do you know anything…anything at all? If we don’t find her soon, he’s going to kill her. She’s the best chance to have to getting him put away for your brothers’ murders.” She met his eyes. “Please, Gabriel. Think. It may be something off chance, a little detail. I know in my heart that you know where she is, but it doesn’t seem like a likely place.”

Gabriel nodded, furrowing his brow in thought. “There’s a store, a meat market. It’s in one of his sisters’ name. I don’t remember which one.”

Lydia thought back to what had become of the diner. “That’s okay. You’ve given me plenty. Do you know what his sisters’ names are?”

“Pilar and Sabina.”

Lydia nodded as she got up. “Thank you, Gabriel.”

“Find her soon, Agent Sanchez. Catch the bastard for Javier and Hector.”

“I will.”

(BREAK)

When Lydia got back to the lab, she immediately walked to where Mac and Jack were discussing the case. “I might have a lead. Gabriel Martinez says that Montoya owns a meat market in his sister’s name. He didn’t know which one.”

“What are their names?” Jack asked while Mac booted up his computer.

“Pilar and Sabina Montoya.”

Mac entered in the search requirements and then smiled grimly. “Okay. I have a meat market registered to a Pilar Montoya in Spanish Harlem.” Both Lydia and Jack got up and grabbed their jackets and weapons.

“I’ll call the team back. What’s the address, Mac?” She quickly wrote the address down and pulled out her phone. “Harrison, it’s Lydia. I need you to grab the team. We have a possible location.”

Mac flagged Flack down as he was walking by. “Don! We have a possible lead.”

Flack walked in, a light in his eyes. “Yeah?”

“Lydia’s getting a team together.”

Jack walked behind Flack and closed the door. “Look. Cory’s been missing for a little over 72 hours. Considering that Montoya wants to kill her, you have to be prepared for the fact that she is going to be in bad shape. You already know that he’s been drugging her with Scopolamine.”

Flack nodded. “I’ve thought about it. He probably isn’t giving her food or water.”

Mac nodded grimly as well. “I don’t want Danny anywhere near this. If we find her dead or in as bad of shape as we think, he’s going to lose it. We can’t have him contaminating the crime scene.”

Flack grinned wryly. “Cause ya know that he’ll rush in at the first sign of her. Got it. Maybe we can get Lindsay to stay here with him.”

Mac looked at him. “Do it. Get the team together in thirty minutes. We leave then.”

(BREAK)

The combined FBI and NYPD team swarmed around the surveillance van, double checking to make sure that everything was in order. The only thing they were waiting on was getting the search warrant. Finally, there was a ring in the van and the fax machine spat out a piece of paper. Lydia looked it over and grinned. “We have it. Let’s go.”

They quickly split up into two teams, with Lydia and Flack taking the front and Mac taking the back. Lydia walked up to the door, which was closed and tested the lock. “It’s locked.” She rapped on the door loudly, yelling out, “FBI! We have a warrant!”

After no response, she motioned for one of the agents to break down the door and they entered the room. Quickly they cleared the outer part of the store, then proceeded to the back, where they could hear Mac’s team breaking down the door.

They met in a hallway and Lydia nodded her head towards a closed storeroom door. Mac nodded once and positioned himself opposite of her on the left hand side. Lydia turned the handle, only to find the door locked.

Flack took a step back and then used his weight to break the door down. All three burst into the room, to find a man standing over Cory with an empty syringe. “You’re too late,” he said with a grin.

Flack almost growled in his anger and he saw Cory lose consciousness and pointed his gun at the man. “Hands up, scumbag,” he growled, while Mac called out for Hawkes.

Lydia ran over to Cory, checking for a pulse. “She has a pulse! It’s weak, but she’s still alive!” Quickly, she removed the ropes binding her to the chair. “Cory? Come on, Cory. Wake up!” Panicked when she got no response, she stalked over to the man, her brown eyes flashing in anger. “What the hell did you give her?”

The man just began laughing. “What the hell did you give her?!” she repeated as Flack yanked him to his feet while reading him is rights in a cold voice.

He didn’t respond as Hawkes ran into the room, his bag in his hand. “What’s her status?” he asked in a worried voice.

“He injected her with something just as we walked in. Won’t tell us what. She has a faint pulse.” Hawkes looked at them, seriously. “We need to get her to a hospital, now. From what I can tell, she’s dehydrated and other than the Scopolamine, I have no idea what they’ve injected her with. I see multiple needle marks.”

Mac nodded. “The bus is on the way,” he said as he knelt beside them. “Hang on, Cory. Just hang on.”

(BREAK)

Alexis stared across the bow of the yacht, still trying to figure out where she was. She heard Montoya walk up behind her and turned. Looking at the gleam in his eye, her heart plummeted. “You ordered her death, didn’t you?” she asked quietly.

“Your daughter is dead. I’ve completed my revenge.”

Alexis looked at him, tears streaming down her face. “You bastard,” she whispered harshly. “The only thing you did was ensure that I will never willing give myself to you again. You may take my body, but you’ll never have my soul.” Alexis turned on her heel and stalked away from him, trying to contain her sobs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Okay. So Cory has been found!!


	49. Zombie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves attention. :D I also do not own Taylor, Maddy or any characters from Without A Trace. The song title belongs to The Cranberries. Many thanks to Aphina and Axellia for being my betas!

Chapter 49.

** Zombie **

Danny ran into the hospital with a feeling of déjà vu coming over him. He breathlessly stopped in the waiting room, seeing Mac, Jack, Flack and Lydia waiting for him. “Any news?” he asked trying to suppress the panic in his chest.

Mac looked at him. “Not yet. Hawkes is in there with her right now.”

“What happened?”

Lydia was the one who answered. “She was injected with an unknown drug. She wasn’t conscious at the scene, but she was alive.” She looked up and closed her mouth as Hawkes walked up behind them. “Sheldon?”

“She’s alive. She’s severely dehydrated and it looks like she hasn’t eaten in a couple of days.”

“What drug was she injected with?” Jack asked.

Hawkes got a hard look on his face. “It was a combination of Scopolamine and morphine,” he growled. “That’s the reason she wasn’t aware. When those two drugs are mixed, it causes a reaction called twilight sleep. Basically, it puts the person in a zombie like state. They are aware of what’s going on, but can’t react to it.”

Danny’s eyes opened wide. “Oh God,” he muttered.

Hawkes shook his head. “But that was everything. They are keeping her until the drugs wear off and then they want to get her hydrated. She should be out of the hospital in a couple of days.” Wearily, he walked over to Lydia. “I really want to catch this bastard. One of the side effects of Scopolamine is amnesia, so she probably won’t remember a lot.”

Lydia shook her head. “So do I, but he’s off the grid. Interpol lost him in Paris and we can’t seem to find him. He hasn’t gone back to Columbia and we can’t find any record of him coming back to the States.”

Mac and Jack looked at each other. “Is Alexis in danger of being killed?” Jack asked.

Lydia shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t know. We don’t have a lot of info, other than he’s in love with her. Based on just that, I would think that it’s unlikely. He doesn’t want her dead, he wants her with him.”

Danny looked around, feeling torn between wanting to find out what he could about Alexis and wanting to be with Cory. “Hawkes,” he said finally. “Can I see Cory?”

Hawkes smiled. “Yeah. Let me take you to her room.”

(BREAK)

Danny walked into the room. He looked at Cory lying peacefully on the bed and sighed as he sat down. “ _Bella?_ You spend way too much time in here. If I didn’t know any better, I would say that you enjoy being in the hospital.”

He picked up her hand and held it lightly between his own. Feeling a sense of relief at the warmth he felt, he leaned back and closed his eyes, falling asleep for the first time in three days.

When he awoke, he momentarily looked around confused. Glancing down, he realized that Cory’s fingers were moving. “Cory?” he whispered hoarsely.

Cory blinked before turning her head. “Danny? Where am I?” she managed to get out.

“Queen of Mercy. What do you remember?”

Cory looked at him, blinking her eyes. “About what? What happened?”

Danny sighed, thankful that Hawkes had warned him about the memory loss. “Three days ago, Montoya kidnapped you.”

Cory looked at him in shock. “What?”

Danny just shook his head. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

Cory thought for a moment. “I had to cancel on Taylor because I was going to meet Cruz.” She paused. “He’d been shot! Is he okay?” Her eyes opened wide. “Oh, God! The bomb. There’s a bomb on the subway!” Her voice was laced with panic.

“Lydia got your message and they found them before they detonated.” Danny smiled. “He’s fine. It was touch and go for a moment, but he’s going to be okay. Angell is with him.”

Cory smiled. “They would make a good couple,” she said softly.

Danny just shook his head, relieved that Cory seemed to be recovering well. She yawned, and looked at him apologetically. “I’m sorry. I’m just so tired,” she said.

“That’s okay, _bella._ Go to sleep. You’ve been through a rough couple of days.

(BREAK)

When Hawkes and Lydia left the hospital, they were both mentally and physically exhausted. Lydia yawned before looking at him. “I can’t decide if I’m more hungry or tired,” she said wearily.

Hawkes nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Me too. What do you say we pick up some takeout and then go back to my place?”

“Sounds like a plan,” she replied with a small smile.

As they drove to his place, after picking up the Chinese, Lydia kept replaying the last seventy-two hours in her head. “Ya know, Sheldon…I feel really sorry for Cory. She’s been through so much and I don’t want to tell her that her mom is missing now. I don’t know how much she can take until she breaks.”

Hawkes thought about it for a few moments. “I know, but she’s strong and with Danny by her side, I think she can overcome anything. I’m just worried about Alexis. I hope she’s okay.”

Lydia nodded as she unbuckled her seat belt to walk up to his apartment. Once inside, she shrugged off her jacket and put it in the closet, before walking to the kitchen and grabbing some plates.

Hawkes followed her into the kitchen, watching the homely scene that she made. “Lydia?” he asked tentatively. “Why don’t we move in together?”

Lydia turned in shock, almost dropping the plate that she had in her hands. “Are you sure? Are we ready for that?” she asked.

Hawked grinned, happy to have caught her unaware. “Yeah. I’ve been thinking about it a while.”

Lydia grinned, the smile lighting up her chocolate eyes. “Then, yeah, I’d love that.”

(BREAK)

Mac sighed wearily as he left the hospital. He was happy that they had found Cory, alive and relatively well, but the previous three days had taken a lot out of him and his team. He smiled as he thought back to how much of a rock Stella had been for him. Not only had she played peacemaker between him and the Feds, but she had kept him thinking positively.

He grinned as a thought came to him. He changed his direction and started to head for her apartment instead.

(BREAK)

Stella walked slowly up to her apartment, wanting nothing more than to sleep for twelve hours straight. Mac had called her earlier to let her know that Cory was safe and that he was going home to sleep. She opened her door wearily, only to find candles burning and soft music playing. She sniffed the air in appreciation. “Mac?” she called out softly.

Mac walked out of the kitchen, a hand towel thrown over his shoulder. “Hey, Stel,” he said before giving her a kiss.

Stella returned the kiss with passion before pulling back and looking at him. “I thought that you were going home to sleep,” she said in confusion.

Mac shrugged. “I was, but I realized how much you’ve kept me sane these past couple of days and I wanted to thank you. Why don’t you go grab a hot bath, dinner should be ready in about an hour.”

Stella looked at him, her love her him shining in her eyes. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?” she asked before kissing him again.

“I love you, too,” he said simply.

(BREAK)

When Flack and Lindsay arrived home, Lindsay sat down on the couch. “I’m so tired,” she complained.

Flack smiled. “Linds? You really need to start to pace yourself,” he said with a chuckle as he joined her on the couch. He placed his hand lightly on her stomach. “You’re going to have to slow down a little since you’re pregnant.”

Lindsay sighed as she leaned into him. “I know, but I’m only a little over two months along. I didn’t think that it would hit me this hard.” She sighed in contentment as Flack rubbed his hand soothingly over her stomach, feeling the weariness ebb away. “Mac says that I’ll have to go on complete lab duty once I’m three months along,” she said while pulling a face.

Flack laughed. “At least you won’t have to go outside in the cold! But I think it’s a good idea. I don’t like the idea of you roaming around a crime scene right now.”

Lindsay sighed, his thoughts mirrored her own. “Neither do I.” She decided to change the subject. “So, have you thought of any names?”

Flack looked down at her. “Honestly, no. I kinda want to wait until we find out the sex of the baby.”

Lindsay grinned. “How do you know that I want to know before the baby is born what it is?”

“Please tell me you do!”

“I don’t know, yet. It would be nice to be surprised and there are reports out there that say that having an ultrasound can be harmful to the baby. I just want everything to go okay. I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks.”

Flack nodded. “I see what you mean, but I want to know. When are we able to find out?”

“Eighteen to twenty-two weeks, and I’m about eleven now. So in about two months, we can find out.”

Flack yawned. “Okay. I think I can wait that long.” He looked down and saw her eyes fluttering shut as she was trying to fight off the sleep. “Sweetheart, let’s go to bed.”

Lindsay nodded her agreement as she slowly stood up and they made their way to the bedroom.

(BREAK)

Alexis stared up at the ceiling on the boat, hopelessness overwhelming her. _I can’t believe Cory is dead. I just can’t. I don’t feel like she is gone._ Closing her eyes, she hoped for the first time since she was ten that she could see the future. Her eyes shot open at the sound of Montoya yelling in Spanish.

She listened carefully, trying to remember her Spanish so that she could translate until her brain caught up with her. With hope rising in her chest, she realized that he was screaming at the person who had just told him that Cory was alive and expected to make a full recovery.

Sobbing in respite, she felt the relief wash over her and she began thanking God for watching over her, but she knew that it was going to make the atmosphere between her and Montoya even more strained.


	50. Blurry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves attention. :D The chapter title comes from the band, Puddle of Mudd. Many thanks to Aphina and Axellia, who without, this story would suck!

Chapter 50.

** Blurry **

When Cory awoke, she looked around the hospital room. She vaguely remembered Danny kissing her good-bye before he left for work. Blinking her eyes, she struggled to remember something from the previous three days. She shook her head as she realized that the only thing that kept popping into her mind was a picture of Cruz lying in his own blood. 

She looked up as a knock interrupted her meandering thoughts. She glanced at Angell as she entered the room. “Hi, Jess,” she said softly.

“Cory. How are you?” Angell asked with concern in her eyes.

“I’m fine,” Cory said automatically. “How’s Cruz?”

Angell smiled, a light coming to her eyes. “He’s getting better. The doctors are pleased with his progress.” Angell sat down. “I’m actually taking a small break from sitting with him to come visit you.”

“He’s here?”

Angell nodded. “Yeah. Couple of floors up.”

Cory looked around and then pressed the call button for the nurse. One appeared almost immediately. She looked at the friendly brunette. “Can I go and visit another patient?”

The nurse nodded. “Of course. Let me get you a wheelchair.” The nurse left the room and soon was back with a wheelchair, which Cory gingerly got into. Angell grabbed the handles and began to push her towards Cruz’s room.

Cory studied the people in the hallway as they moved by them, dreading seeing Cruz, knowing that she was responsible for putting him in this place. Nervousness settled in her chest for the reaction that she would get when she saw him.

As Angell paused in front of the door, she stared down at her hands. Seconds later, Angell pushed her into the room and she saw Cruz sitting up in the bed, his shoulder bandaged.

Ovidio looked up as they entered the room and straightened a bit. “Agent Reid.”

Cory looked at him, hearing no accusation in his voice. She smiled. “You got shot for me. I think you can call me Cory now, Ovidio.”

Cruz nodded. “Cory. How are you?”

“By the looks of it, better than you. How’s the shoulder and how’d you get made?” Cory replied.

Cruz smiled and nodded to Angell, who left the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Quietly, he began to her of his time undercover.

(BREAK)

Cory sat impatiently in her hospital room, waiting for the doctor to sign her release papers. Danny had brought her a change of clothes that morning before he left for work. He had left her alone with the admonishment that he hoped that she could stay out of trouble long enough for him to come back and pick her up. She had laughed at the sally and promised that she would try.

She stared at the TV, not really seeing the screen, but trying to put the fragments of her memory back in some semblance of order. She clearly remembered being with Cruz and then waking up chained to a bed, but things after that were very fuzzy. _Why do I think that if I can remember something I can find Mom?_

Danny had told her the day before about her mother going to meet Montoya in Paris, to give them more time to find her and she felt a lance of regret shoot through her at their last conversation. _Why didn’t I give her a chance to explain? Damn my temper!_

Sighing, she watched as the doctor walked into the room. “Well, Ms. Reid, I am clearing you for discharge. I do want you to rest for the next forty-eight to seventy-two hours, so do not go back to work until Monday the 10th.” He looked at her intently, obviously warned about her stubbornness when it came to going back to work. 

Reluctantly, Cory nodded. “Fine. May I at least go shopping? I really need to start my Christmas shopping.”

“As long as you are not speed shopping and you’re taking it easy, that’s fine. Just don’t overdo it.”

“I understand,” Cory said, with her mind whirling about what she could do from home. She smiled as a nurse walked into the room, with Danny trailing behind her. 

(BREAK)

When they arrived home, Danny refused to let Cory walk. He carried her up to their apartment and set her carefully on the couch, like she was going to break.

Cory glanced at him. “Danny? I’m not made of glass. I’m fine,” she stated softly.

Danny flushed a little. “I know, _bella,_ but I just got you back. I’m…” he trailed off as emotion overwhelmed him.

Cory tugged on his hand, drawing him down on the couch with her, and drew him into a hug. “I know, sweetheart. I’m sorry that I worried you. I never suspected that Montoya was in Dallas, much less that he would try to kidnap me!” She sighed in contentment as Danny’s arms wrapped around her. “So,” she said into his chest. “What did I miss?”

Danny sighed in contentment as he rested his chin on top of her head. “Not much. Stella played mediator between Mac and the Feds. We stopped bombs from blowing up the subway and your Mom risked her life for you.” Danny paused. “I’m sorry that we lost her, _bella_. Lydia had Interpol tracking her, but they lost her in Paris.”

Cory shook her head. “I’ll find her. Montoya has finally pushed me to my limit. I will stop at nothing to get her back and put him behind bars,” she said with conviction.

Danny squeezed her lightly. “I know you will.” Danny paused when his stomach rumbled. 

Cory laughed. “Hungry, _chere_?”

Danny flushed a bit. “Yeah, I haven’t eaten since breakfast. Why don’t I fix us dinner?”

Cory nodded her assent. “Okay. Listen, I want to go shopping this weekend with the girls. Do you know what Stella and Lindsay are working?”

Danny turned before he entered the kitchen. “Both are off on Sunday.”

“Good. I need to do my Christmas shopping,” Cory said while grabbing her phone to call them.

(BREAK)

Sunday, Cory was checking her email while waiting for Taylor, Lydia, Stella and Lindsay to arrive. They had decided to meet at her place at noon to go shopping. Just as her buzzer sounded, Cory saw an email pop up. Walking quickly to the door, she let the girls in and hurried back to her laptop to read the email. It was from Alistair.

_“Cory,_

_I have a possible lead on your mother. Montoya bought a yacht in Nice. We’re trying to track it right now. I’ll email you if we get any more info._

_Alistair.”_

Cory bit her lip as she read the email, wanting to respond, but knowing that she shouldn’t even be logged on to the FBI database. Finally, just as the door opened, she decided to send her reply.

“Hey Cory. What are you doing?” Lydia asked from behind her.

Cory looked up, a guilty expression on her face. “Um. Responding to an email,” she temporized.

Lydia looked at her boss and friend, seeing the look of guilt on her face. “Sure,” she said with a smirk. “Who from?”

“Fine,” Cory said with a huff. “It was from Alistair. They have a possible lead on my mom. Montoya bought a yacht in Nice.”

Lydia smiled. “Good. Maybe he can help us track her down since they are the ones that lost her in the first place!” She closed Cory’s laptop with a snap. “Come on. Let’s go shopping.”

Cory allowed herself to be pulled off the couch and out the door.

Several hours later, she sat in a small café, exhausted. “Stella? You are a maniac! I don’t think I’ve ever power shopped like this before.”

Stella smiled and the other girls laughed. “What can I say? It’s a gift,” she said, smirking. “But, do you or do you not feel better?”

Cory nodded. “Yeah, I do. Thank y’all so much. I needed this. Now I have all my shopping done, except for y’all.” She looked at Taylor, who was peering around her. “Ghost?”

Taylor nodded her head. “Nope. I do think I know that guy over there, though.”

They all turned around and it was Lydia who recognized him first. “Matt!” she yelled, waving her arm slightly.

The man turned around and smiled as he walked over. “Hi. I didn’t expect to see you guys here.”

Lindsay smiled as she raised her eyebrow. “Neither did we. How’s New York’s newest hero doing?” she asked.

“It was just a day at the office. Did you find anything out about the C4?”

Stella looked at them. “Nope. No talking shop today. We are all actually off work. You can ask us tomorrow, Matt.”

Matt laughed as he turned at the sound of his name. “Okay. I gotta go anyway. I’ll swing by the lab tomorrow for those results,” he said over his shoulder as he walked away.

Cory looked on in interest as he greeted a short blonde. “Hey Lydia? Isn’t that Cassie?”

Lydia looked around her. “Yup,” she said grinning. “I thought the two of them hit it off when they were diffusing the bombs.”

Cory giggled. “I hope that Matt knows what a ride she’ll take him on.” She paused when she saw the confusion on Taylor, Stella and Lindsay’s faces. “Cassie’s a little on the wild side. She’ll lead him on a merry chase.”

The table broke out in laughter just as the food was delivered. Cory took a bite of her Chicken Alfredo and sighed. “God, this is sinful. It’s worth every calorie, though.”

The other women murmured their agreement and quickly they finished eating. Stella looked around the table. “Anyone else ready to shop some more?” she said with a glint in her eye. She pouted at the groans. “Come on. It’s just one stop and it’s to Georgie,” she finished in a sing song voice.

Lindsay’s eyes lit up. “Georgie? Really! Good, I so need a formal dress for the Policeman’s Ball that I’ll actually fit into! My clothes are starting to get tight,” she said with a frown.

Cory laughed. “Well, you are pregnant and clothes are bound to do that. But I’m in. I need a dress for the ball. I want to knock Danny’s socks off.”

“All right, then. Let’s go. He’s expecting us at four, so that leaves us an hour to get there.” The women stood up and the women left the café and prepared to put themselves into Georgie’s more than capable hands.


	51. He’s the Wizard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves attention. :D The chapter title comes from Michael Jackson. Many thanks to Aphina and Axellia for the beta!

Chapter 51.

** He’s the Wizard **

Stella drove them to a nondescript building on a busy street. Quickly, they stowed their packages in the trunk of the SUV before she led them to door partially hidden in an alleyway.

“Stella?” Taylor said in confusion. “Why do I feel like I’m in a spy movie?”

Stella shot a grin over her shoulder. “That’s because Georgie is very exclusive.”

Cory lifted an eyebrow. “And how exactly did you meet?”

Stella laughed. “We were in foster care together,” she said as she knocked a pattern on the door. Seconds later, the door swung open by a short, stout guy wearing horn rimmed glasses.

“Stella!” he exclaimed with a smile lighting up his face. He peered at the rest of the women. “Lindsay, you look amazing. The last time you were here was…” he trailed off in remembrance. 

“A while ago,” Lindsay replied with a smile. “So how successful is your new line?”

“In the stratosphere, darling. All due to you. I took a picture of you and showed it to some of my clients and they absolutely loved the dresses.” Lindsay blushed slightly and Georgie continued, “So, who have you brought me today?” He ushered them into his studio, which was filled with brightly colored fabric.

Stella smiled. “I’d like you to meet, Cory Reid, Lydia Sanchez and Taylor Turner,” she said pointed out each woman as she said their name.

Georgie studied each woman as he smiled at them. “Hum. Policeman’s Ball, I presume?” he asked while walked through racks of dresses.

“Of course,” Stella replied as she gestured to a small grouping of chairs. “I assume you have something in mind.”

His only answer was a laugh as he carried an array of dresses to a rack. “For you, my dear, I have the perfect dress,” he said to Stella, holding up a dress made up of gold silk. “Go, try it on.” Stella didn’t waste any time, she grabbed the dress and walked towards the dressing area. 

“And you, Lindsay,” he said holding up a royal blue dress. “I think this is perfect.” Lindsay just smiled as she followed Stella.

Georgie turned his gaze to Cory, Taylor and Lydia. “Now, you three. I’ve never dressed you before, but if you trust me, I’ll make you the belles of the ball.”

He studied Taylor. “Taylor Turner. I’ve wanted to put you in one of my dresses ever since I saw your billboard in Times Square. I love your column, by the way. Stand for a moment, while I see what will flatter you the most.”

“Okay, thanks,” Taylor said feeling a little unsure of herself.

“Hum. You’re tall and like to wear heels.” He winked at her. “I love that in a woman. Shows that you’re not intimidated. For you, I think something sleek and sophisticated,” he said in a distracted manner as he turned back to the dresses. He returned in a matter of seconds, holding a black dress and gold lace dress. “Go, darling, and try it on.”

Lydia and Cory looked at each other, feeling a little nervous as his gaze settled back on them. He looked at Lydia and pursed his lips. “Lydia, right?” At her nod, he continued. “Are you a cop?”

“Yes. FBI agent, actually,” Lydia said with a smile.

“I’m impressed,” Georgie replied. “I think something a little more exotic for you. I love your cheekbones.” He thought for a moment, and then a light came to his eyes. “I think I have the perfect dress! I’ve just been waiting on the right woman to put it on.” He walked quickly behind a couple of racks before immerging with a swath of red material. “Here, go try this on.”

He turned his attention to Cory, who tried to keep from squirming under his penetrating stare. “You, my dear, are a mystery to me. You walk like a debutante, but the way you scan the room, screams cop.”

Cory laughed. “You sure you don’t want a job profiling for the FBI? Not many people would be able to see both sides in me,” she drawled.

Georgie raised his eyebrows. “Southern, too? You are full of surprises. Let me guess, oil money?”

Cory looked at him in shock. “Seriously, can I hire you? I could use someone like you on my team.”

Georgie just laughed. “Only if you want me to profile woman shoppers. I’d be at a loss with criminals. Hum. I think I have a dress for you, if you dare. Give me a moment.” He disappeared again into the mass of dresses. He reappeared moments later with an armful of a coppery silk. “Here,” he said as she shooed her towards the changing room.

Cory walked back and quickly changed before calling out to the others. “Okay y’all. On three!” she called out before walking out of the room, feeling a little self conscious in her dress.

She looked at the other women. “Wow. We clean up pretty good,” she said in admiration.

Lindsay looked at her. “Wow, Cory. That dress is fabulous!”

Cory smiled as she modeled the dress. It was a halter dress with a V neck that plunged to her navel. It has held together by three diamond fasteners, one under the bust, one by her navel and one in the middle. It hugged her curves to her knees, where it flared slightly, to sweep the floor.

Stella looked at her. “You have to take that,” she said in admiration. “Of course, you may never get Danny out of the house once he sees it!”

“You’re one to talk, Stella. Wait until Mac sees you!” Cory said while gesturing to Stella gold dress. It was a pale gold with a halter neck. It had a ruched bodice that draped to the skirt and a glittering gold bank that accented her slim waist.

Stella looked at Lindsay’s dress. “I love that on you,” she said. Lindsay’s dress was an empire waist royal blue with beading around the straps and V neck bodice. When Lindsay turned around, they noticed that the bead straps met in the center of her back, where they turned into one strap that followed her spine.

Lindsay blushed. “Thanks, but I wish I could wear Taylor’s. It’s so elegant, but I’m just not tall enough to pull it off.” Taylor did a quick spin, showing off the black and gold lace dress. It was a halter dress, with a scalloped neckline. It had a black band of material around the waist and skimmed the tops of her toes.

They all turned at stared at Lydia’s dress, while she spun in place. “I love this dress,” she said with a dreamy smile. It was a vibrant red, with diamond accented straps that crisscrossed her back. It had a V neck that plunged past her cleavage, but not as deep as Cory’s dress. 

“I trust that you girls are pleased?” Georgie asked from where he was admiring them from the side.

Cory turned to him. “Georgie, you are a genius.”

“It’s what I do,” he said humbly.

Taylor looked around. “You all know CPR? We are going to shock people,” she said with a mischievous smile.

Georgie laughed. “Get changed and I’ll wrap them up for you,” he said with a wink.

(BREAK)

When Cory got home, she was almost glowing from shopping expedition. Danny watched her as she walked in. “Good day?”

Cory smiled softly. “The best. I need to go shopping with Stella more often. I’m exhausted, but in the good way.”

Danny nodded. “I noticed that you had an email from Alistair. Any news on your mom?”

Cory sighed as she sat down. “He found out that Montoya bought a yacht in Nice, so I assume that they are going to be looking for it.” She looked at Danny. “I just want her back. I was so mean to her the last time that we talked.”

Danny wrapped his arms around her. “What ever you may have said to her has been forgotten. I think she realized her error when you were kidnapped. She was willing to give her life for you, _bella._ Remember that.” He looked down at her. “You hungry?”

Cory smiled. “Lord, yes. How about Campisi’s?”

Danny smiled as he got up to get the phone. “Of course.”

(BREAK)

Alexis stared out the window as the yacht finally docked. She was unsure about how long they had been out on the water. She sighed in boredom. Ever since Montoya had found that Cory had survived, he had locked her in the room, bringing her meals to her.

He hadn’t spoken to her, not even to tell her officially that Cory had survived. She stared at the deserted dock, which the sun was beating down on as she tried to guess a location. From the look of the water, she thought they were in the Mediterranean, but wasn’t sure.

Finally, when the yacht had docked, she heard the door unlock and Etienne walked in. “Please come with me, Madame. We are exiting the boat,” he said.

“Etienne, where are we?”

“That is not for me to tell, Madame. Please, follow me,” he said as he once again led her through the halls.


	52. Broken Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves attention. :D The song title belongs to The Silence. Okay, I'm going to be completely horrible to Cory, but don't hate me! Many thanks to Aphina and Axellia for betaing!!

Chapter 52.

** Broken Nightmare **

Cory had been back to work for four days and was frustrated at her lack of progress of finding her mother. She sighed, going over all the information she had again, but coming to a dead end. “I don’t get it, Lydia. We know that they left, in a yacht, from Nice, but why can’t we find were they are now? It’s not like they can stay at sea forever.”

Lydia looked at her. It was evident that Cory was losing sleep over her missing mother, but she couldn’t do anything to help her. “They can’t, but unless they have some place that they are refueling.” Lydia stopped and thought for a moment. “Wait. They can stay at sea for as long as they like as long as they have fuel and supplies, right?”

Cory looked at Lydia, not sure where she was going. “Yeah. I’d assume so.”

“Montoya is a real hands on person. He micromanages his cartel. There is no way in hell he’s going to stay out of touch for an extended period of time.” Lydia jumped up and rushed towards her office. Cory sensing where she was going was right behind her. “So all we have to do is see if we can find any yachts that are making a lot of satellite calls!”

“Because there is basically no cellular coverage unless you’re near the land. And if he was near the land, he’s more likely to be caught!” Cory finished excitedly.

Lydia nodded her head. “You’re reading my mind,” she said with a smile. Quickly she pulled up some data, looking for any discrepancies. “Well,” she said with a frown, “at first glance, I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. But why don’t you email Alistair and see if Interpol can find anything.”

Cory nodded. “I think I’ll do that,” she said before settling down in a chair in front of Lydia. She grew quiet as her mind jumped into overdrive.

“So, are you ready the Policeman’s Ball?” Lydia asked with a smirk, trying to distract Cory from her obvious thoughts. “I am now after our little trip to Georgie. I love my dress.”

Cory nodded. “I know. I can’t believe the dresses that we have. They are gorgeous and I know Danny’s going to die when he sees me,” she ended with an excited grin. “This is the most daring dress that I’ve ever worn. Have you gotten your shoes yet?”

Lydia nodded. “Yeah. I got some red stiletto pumps. What about you?”

“Silver sandals,” Cory sighed. “Well, this is not contacting Alistair and we have a new case to work.”

“New case? Aren’t we working on your mom’s case?”

Cory rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately, since the abduction took place outside of the US and we have no conclusive evidence that she is back in the US, there’s nothing we can do. The only way that we will get assigned the case is if we can prove she is back in the United States.”

“That’s just wrong,” Lydia stated.

“I understand though. Really, we can’t do anything right now. I’ll call a meeting for tomorrow morning to go over the new case.” Cory shook her head. “I’d better go. It’s almost five and I promised Danny I’d been home before six,” she said with some irritation in her voice.

“He’s just worried about you, Cory.”

Cory sighed as she stood in the doorframe. “I know, it just gets old. But, I’ll live with it,” she said as she walked out of the office.

(BREAK)

Danny was staring down at this crime scene is disbelief. “You’ve gotta be joking,” he muttered under his breath.

“About what?” Lindsay asked, coming up from behind him.

As a response, Danny just gestured down at the body lying in front of them. “Santa.”

Lindsay looked down at the dead man on the street, who was dressed up like Santa, complete with a naughty and nice list sticking out of his pocket. Danny quickly took pictures of the body and then bent over to retrieve the list, written on parchment. He looked at the list, seeing that it was detailed with full names.

Shaking his head, he bagged the list and began to search for a cause of death. He turned the body slightly, noting that the man’s beard looked real. Unable to stop himself, he pulled it slightly and found that it was indeed real. “Okay. This is just too weird.”

“What’s that Messer?” Lindsay said from the other side of the body where she was taking swabs of something for trace.

“His beard is real and I see some type of animal hair on him,” Danny muttered back.

Lindsay just laughed at him. “You are too much, Messer. Santa Claus is not a real person. Do you see sign of what might have killed him?”

Danny shook his head. “Nope. No visible wounds or blood. Looks like Sid will have to help us out on this one.” He shook his head again and went back to gathering evidence.

A couple of hours later, Danny and Lindsay were processing the evidence found on the street. Danny was studying the animal hair found on the body, while Lindsay was running the other trace for any DNA that might be present.

Just as she was processing another swab, this time from under Santa’s nails, Danny started to laugh. She looked at him, an eyebrow raised, as he was bent over with laughing. “Danny? You okay?”

Danny took a deep breath. “Yeah. I’m fine. But I did identify the animal hair found on Santa.”

“What is it?” Lindsay asked.

“ _Rangifer tarandus_. Reindeer hair.”

It was Lindsay’s turn to lose her power of speech as her mouth opened and closed a couple of times. Finally, she managed, “You’re kidding.”

Danny shook his head, still laughing. “Nope. I gotta tell you Montana. I think we have the real Santa Claus in here.”

Lindsay just shook her head as they were paged. “That’s Sid. Maybe he has cause of death, ‘cause we’ve got nothing up here.”

Laughing the pair made their way down to the morgue. Danny followed Lindsay in and looked at Sid. “Tell me some good news here Sid. Was it a natural cause of death?”

Sid shook his head as he snapped his glasses back into place. “Not by a long shot. While there are no outward defensive wounds, Santa was in excellent health. All of his organs were intact with very little signs of a derogatory lifestyle. However, for his last meal, you’ll get a kick out of this. Milk and cookies.”

Danny snorted. “Really?”

Lindsay giggled. “Is his hair and beard real?”

Sid nodded. “Very much so. I must say, he is impeccably groomed.” He unsnapped his glasses. “I sent some of his blood to Tox to run a screen on it. I am assuming at this point, he was poisoned.”

Danny and Lindsay nodded, taking with them the fingerprints that gotten from the corpse, so hopefully they could identify the man. Once back upstairs, Danny glanced at the clock. “Montana, can you believe it’s after six? We were off the clock an hour ago.”

Lindsay smiled. “Yeah. Let’s log all of this and hit it fresh tomorrow.”

(BREAK)

An hour later, Cory was walking into her dark apartment. Shaking her head, she flipped on the lights and sank down on the couch. No matter what she was doing, her mind kept going over where Montoya would take her mom. It was driving her crazy. Admitting to herself, she knew that she was becoming obsessed with Montoya, which is why she didn’t mind taking on the new case. Intellectually, she knew that if she was obsessed, she would make mistakes that could have some dire consequences.

Hearing a key in the lock, she looked over her shoulder as Danny walked in. “Hey,” she said softly. “How was your day?”

Danny shook his head in bewilderment as he dropped his keys on the table by the door and stowed his gun in the closet. “I have one dead Santa.”

Cory looked at him, a puzzled expression on her face. “Huh?”

“Yup. Dead Santa on the street. Don’t have an ID yet, but he was in excellent health,” he commented as he sank on the couch.

“Really. Sounds more interesting than my day. I have a new case, which Agent Michaels assigned to my team today.” She pulled a face.

Danny looked at her carefully, worried that she was beginning to obsess over Montoya. “That’s to be expected, sweetheart. Your mom is kinda out of your jurisdiction right now.”

Cory sighed heavily. “I know. It’s just frustrating. I should be able to go after her, but my hands are ties. The most I can do is share all of my information with Alistair and hopefully he can track her down.”

Danny just drew her in his arms and kissed the top of her head. “They’ll find her, _bella._ Of that, I am certain,” he said trying to comfort her.

“Thanks,” Cory breathed. “Wanna watch a movie?”

“What movie do you have in mind?”

Cory smirked. “I’ll give you a choice. _Transformers_ or _The Bourne Ultimatum_.”

Danny groaned. “Do I have to choose?” He noticed her look. “Okay. Fine. We both have to work tomorrow, so… _Transformers._ ”

Cory grinned as she hit play on the DVD player and the movie started. She saw the look on Danny’s face. “Yes, _chere,_ I really do know you that well,” she smirked as she settled back into his arms.

(BREAK)

_Cory looked around the small warehouse she was in, not recognizing anything. She walked carefully, trying to find a way out. Once she had made a complete circuit of the building, she noticed a small door beside her. Intrigued, she opened the door and walked in._

_Quietly, she closed the door and scanned the dimly lit room. There was a bare light bulb hanging in the center of the room, casting shadows everywhere. Her heels clicked loudly on the floor as she walked around the room, barren of everything except for a wooden chair. Shaking her head in confusion she began to walk towards the door, to exit, when it opened and a group of people entered._

_Cory squinted in the dim light to be able to see who was coming in, but was unable to make out any shapes. She listened to the voice, not understanding what was being said. The voices were speaking in Spanish. Then one voice rang out in English. “Enough! What the boss doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”_

_Cory watched as a woman was bound to the chair, only seeing the back of her head. She walked around to see her face and gasped in horror. It was her mom. “Mom,” she said, shaking._

_Two men approached her, awakening her with some rough slaps to the face. Alexis came to and glared at the men. “Insolent pigs. Montoya will kill you for assaulting me,” she spat at them._

_One man stepped forward and Alexis glared at him. “Etienne. What the hell do you think you’re doing? Montoya is very possessive when it comes to me. He’ll kill you for touching me.”_

_“Madame,” he said calmly. “All of that is already taken care of. As far as he knows, you tried to escape and we are simply trying to capture you. Now, you are going to give me some information or I shall kill you,” he said brandishing a knife._

_Cory felt ice drop into her gut as Alexis shot Etienne a look that clearly said what he could do with knife. Even in this tough situation, Cory had to smile at the audacity that her mother was showing._

_“Tell me about your daughter, the FBI agent,” Etienne began._

_Cory as well as her mother looked at him in confusion. “What?” Alexis asked._

_“Your daughter, the one that Montoya tried so unsuccessfully to kill. Tell me about her. What are her weaknesses, how can I convince her to help me?” he asked in a quiet voice._

_“Help you do what?”_

_“Destroy America, what else?” he returned smugly._

_Alexis’ eyes opened wide and then she spat in his face. “Go to hell, you French pig.”_

_“Who said I was French?” Etienne backhanded her before holding the knife to her neck. “Tell me or I take your life,” he whispered in her ear._

_Alexis shook her head. “I’d rather die than help you,” she said in between clenched teeth._

_Cory turned her head as the knife moved, blood squirting from the severed artery._

Danny jumped when Cory screamed and sat up abruptly. “ _Bella?_ Cory? What’s wrong?” he asked holding the trembling woman in his arms. “You’re shaking like a leaf?”

Cory just looked at him, overwhelmed by fear, tears running freely down her face. “I—I think I just had a vision. I think my mom’s in danger.”

“I thought Montoya wouldn’t hurt her?” Danny asked confused.

“I don’t think it’s Montoya who is going to hurt her,” Cory said, burying her head in Danny’s neck, trying to stop shaking.

(BREAK)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Okay. Don't hate me! I know I am the queen of the cliffhanger with this story!! To give y'all an update. I am working 55 hours a week right now, but I haven't managed to write a couple of chaps this weekend, so I've got up to 60 written!


	53. Winter Wonderland

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves attention. :D Thanks to Aphina and Axellia for the beta!

Chapter 53.

** Winter Wonderland **

Saturday dawned cold and bright. Danny let Cory sleep in late; she obviously needed it since she had woken up the night before from the same nightmare. He got up before her and spent a couple of minutes just watching her sleep. He remembered that she wanted to have some uninterrupted time to get ready for the Policeman’s Ball that night, so when he walked into the kitchen he called Flack.

He smiled when Flack picked up. “Flack, man. The girls want some time to get ready this afternoon. Wanna shoot some hoops?”

Flack cleared his throat. _“Sure. Not a problem. Meet you at two?”_

“Yeah. See you then,” Danny said as he hung up. He looked around the kitchen and decided to make waffles for breakfast.

Cory woke up to the smell of waffles. She stretched and felt her smile fade as the dream came back to her again. Shaking her head, she ran her fingers through her hair, trying to figure out what the dream meant. She looked at the clock as she grabbed a hair tie off the nightstand. It was ten a.m. She grabbed her flannel robe and padded into kitchen while pulling her hair back into a pony tail. “Mornin’,” she muttered while yawning.

Danny turned around and smiled. “Good morning. You look so cute when you are sleepy-eyed.”

Cory just shook her head as she grabbed a Dr. Pepper out of the fridge. Popping the tab, she took a long drink before answering him. “Whatever, Messer. Breakfast looks good.”

Danny gave her a saucy wink while setting the plates on the table. “Listen. Flack and I are going to shoot some hoops around two. I figured that will give you girls enough time to get ready. I’ll get ready at Flack’s.”

Cory looked at him, stunned. “You sure?” At his nod yes, she got up from the table and threw herself into his arms. “You are the best fiancé ever! I promise, the wait will be worth it.” She paused before changing the subject. “So, what’s going on with your dead Santa? Find out his ID yet?”

Danny shook his head. “Not yet. No hits in either AFIS or CODIS. No match to his description in missing persons.”

Cory looked at him. “Yikes. That sucks. Do you know cause of death yet?”

Danny started to laugh. “You’re not going to believe it.”

“Try me.”

“He was killed by a candy cane.”

“What?!” Cory asked, stunned.

“Yeah. It’s a new designer drug. This one was actually administered through a real candy cane, though.”

“Ok,” Cory said in between giggles. “Now I’ve heard everything.”

Danny shook his head. “I know what you mean. I couldn’t stop laughing when it all came together.”

Cory continued to giggle while she took a bite of the waffles.

(BREAK)

When Danny left at one-thirty, Cory sat down at her laptop. She quickly began to type a list of what needed to be done for their wedding. First on her list was to find a church, caterer, florist and photographer. She pursed her lips for a moment and decided to ask Stella if Georgie would be willing to design the dresses. Smiling, she began to organize her thoughts into a spreadsheet.

Two hours later, Cory stood and stretched to pop the tension out of her neck, smiling as she felt a sense of accomplishment. She looked at the clock, noticing that she had enough time to take a long, hot bath before she needed to get dressed.

She had just gotten out of the bath when the doorbell rang. Wrapping herself in her robe, she padded to the door and looked out the peephole. She smiled when she saw Lindsay and Taylor standing outside of her door. She threw the door open and smiled when she saw that they were carrying their dresses and bags full of various accessories.

“Hey,” she said with a smile. “Y’all ready to get ready?”

Both girls grinned. “Yup,” Taylor said with a grin. “We have make-up, jewelry and various hair products. You don’t by any chance have a straightening iron, do you?”

Cory nodded. “Of course. So I take it you want to go straight and sleek?”

Taylor smiled. “Yeah. How are you going?”

Cory pursed her lips for a moment. “Well, since it’s already wet, I think I’m just going to leave it curly. I don’t have the patience the dry it and then straighten it.” She turned to Lindsay. “What about you, Linds?”

Lindsay tilted her head to the side while wrapping one strand of her just past shoulder length hair around one of her fingers. “I’m thinking a French twist,” she said.

Cory nodded as she led them towards her bathroom. “I have two bathrooms. The guest and the master. I have a vanity table in my bedroom, so y’all can fight over the bathrooms.”

Thirty minutes later, she was done with her hair and thought for a moment. “Hey, Linds. How’s the food at one of these things?”

Lindsay stuck her head out of the master bathroom. “Pretty good, actually. I was surprised last year.”

Cory smiled. “Good. Then I don’t have to eat beforehand like I had to last year at the FBI’s function.”

Lindsay giggled. “I hate when you have to do that. But you should be okay.”

Cory nodded as she began to apply her make-up. 

Lindsay looked at her. “Which clasp should I put in?” she asked holding up two different pieces of hair jewelry. 

Cory studied the two different clasps. “Huh. I think the tiny blue and white butterfly would be perfect.”

Lindsay nodded and inserted the clasp into her hair before returning to the bathroom to apply her make-up.

Forty-five minutes later, all three women were ready and talking in the bedroom, when Cory heard the door open up.

“ _Bella?_ ” Danny called out. “Are Taylor and Lindsay here?”

“Yep. Did you bring Marty and Flack with you?” she called back, making sure that he couldn’t see her.

“Yeah.”

“Go sit down on the couch and prepare yourselves,” Cory shot back with a giggle.

A couple of minutes later, the three women walked out of the bedroom.

Danny, Flack and Marty turned around, all of them looking dashing in their tuxedos. Marty was the first to react as he walked over to Taylor. “Wow, Tay. You look so elegant. I don’t think that I’m dressed up enough,” he said softly brushing her hair behind her ear.

Taylor smiled in happiness as she leaned in for a kiss.

Flack walked over to Lindsay, handing her a rose. “I’m speechless,” he said, his blue eyes darkening in desire.

Lindsay smiled softly, thankful that the she wasn’t showing too much in the dress. “Thanks. You look so handsome,” she returned.

Danny stared at Cory, his mouth open slightly in shock. He had never seen her in such a daring dress before. Cory smiled as she walked over to him and whispered in his ear, “You might want to close your mouth, _chere_ , or something might fly down your throat.”

Danny embraced her, bending down to kiss her neck slightly before whispering back, “Do we have to go?”

Cory laughed as she pulled away. “Yes, we need to.” She turned to the rest of the group. “Y’all ready?”

At everyone’s nods, the girls grabbed their bags and they walked out the door.

(BREAK)

When the three couple arrived at the hotel, they noticed Mac, Stella, Hawkes and Lydia waiting outside of entrance for them. When Cory exited the limousine, she noticed that Mac couldn’t keep his eyes off of Stella, who looked like a Greek goddess. She and Lindsay shared at looked at the couple.

After greeting each other, they walked into the ballroom, which was decorated like a winter wonderland. “Wow,” Cory and Lydia breathed together.

Lydia turned to Hawkes. “They really went all out for this,” she murmured in wonder. 

Hawkes smiled at her, admiring the way the red dress made her even more exotic looking. “Yeah, they did. What do you say we find our table?” Lydia smiled as they walked around the room. 

They finally found their table, in the front, not to far from Chief Sinclair’s table. Hawkes smothered a sigh at their proximity to the Chief, but graciously pulled out Lydia’s chair for her.

Within minutes, the rest of the group had arrived and they were sitting down. Cory cleared her throat and raised her glass for a toast. As the group quieted down, she grew serious. ‘To the best damn team in the NYPD. Without y’all, I would have died and a bomb would have destroyed the subway. Thank y’all so much,” she ended quietly.

The girls wiped tears away from their eyes as they clinked the glasses together. Even the guys seemed to be at a loss for words. Luckily, the waiter arrived at that moment with the food.

(BREAK)

Several hours later, after the speeches, which Danny kept moaning about taking forever, the dance floor was opened up. Danny and Flack smiled as they drew Cory and Lindsay out onto the floor. They laughed as they danced through a number of songs, until Lindsay begged to go sit down because her ankles were swelling.

Danny drew Cory to him as a soft waltz came on. “ _Bella,_ _ti amo,”_ he said softly, running his hands up her back.

Cory smiled up at him, feeling at ease for the first time in weeks. “I love you, too,” she whispered as she laid her on his chest.


	54. Santa Claus is Coming to Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves attention. (:D) Do I really need to tell y'all that Santa Claus is Coming to Town isn't mine? Many thanks to Aphina and Axellia, without whom, this story would suck!

Chapter 54.

** Santa Claus is Coming to Town **

The following day after the Ball, Danny was back in the lab, staring at his evidence, trying to find some way to identify his dead Santa. To say he was frustrated was an understatement. He looked at Lindsay, who seemed to be just as frustrated. 

“I don’t get it, Montana. How can no one be missing this guy?” he growled.

Lindsay shook her head, going over the problem in her mind. “I don’t know. Are we just looking in the New York database or nationwide?”

Danny glanced at his computer. “Tri-state. I’ll run the stats nationwide and see if we get a hit, but that’s going to take a while.” He glanced at her, noticing the glow that she was getting. “So, when are you confined to lab duty?”

Lindsay wrinkled her nose. “After New Year’s Eve. Mac wants to make sure that nothing happens to me or the baby,” she said with a sigh. “I understand and actually am looking forward to it a little. Much closer to a bathroom.”

Danny laughed. “You are going to name the child Daniel, right?”

Lindsay snorted. “In your dreams, Messer. I don’t want the poor child to grow up like you,” she returned with a smirk.

“I’m hurt!” Danny managed to return without laughing. “Seriously. Do you need anything?”

“Naw. I’m good.” Lindsay stood up, pulling the parchment with the names on it back to her. 

Danny could see a light come on in her eyes. “What is it? What do you think?”

“What if—what if these names are for real people?” Lindsay got a dumbfounded look on her face. “We’ve been working under the assumption that this man was playing Santa. What if he was trying to be Santa? Our killer could be on this list!”

Danny stared at her. “It’s a long shot, but hell. Do you want the naughty or the nice?”

Lindsay laughed, “I’ll take the nice, please.”

Danny split up the list and the both settled back at the computer to begin the hunt for a killer.

(BREAK)

Across town, Cory was looking at her office phone as it rang. “Reid,” she stated in a question in her voice.

_“Corinne, what are you doing at work on a Sunday?”_ Alistair’s crisp voice asked her.

Cory smiled. “I could ask you the same thing, Alistair. I expect the answer will be the same. Working.”

Alistair laughed. _“True. Anyway, I have some news for you. I think we might have found where Montoya is hiding. The information that Agent Sanchez sent over about the satellite phone usage really helped. Using a process of elimination, we believe that he is in Spain.”_

Cory felt a glimmer of hope flutter in her chest. “Really? What are y’all going to do? Raid? Do you have any contacts?” she asked him in a rush.

_“Slow down, Corinne. We are working on verifying those facts right now. I was wondering something, however. You had stated that Agent Sanchez’s family is from Spain. I could really use someone there that is more familiar with the case. I was calling to see if we could, um, “borrow” her for a bit?”_

Cory shook her head and took in a breath. “Um…I’ll have to ask her and we are in the middle of an investigation, so I’ll see. Can I get back to you tomorrow?”

_“Take the time you need, Corinne. We are still trying to pinpoint a location, so we have the time to spare right now. Ring me as soon as you get an answer.”_

Cory smiled softly. “I will…And, Alistair? Thanks for your help.”

_“My pleasure, Corinne. Good-bye.”_

“Bye,” Cory said as she hung up. She shook her head, feeling torn over what to do. Her logical work mind was screaming that she couldn’t spare Lydia at the moment, since they were preparing a raid in Chinatown, but her heart—her heart already had Lydia on the plane to Spain.

Finally, she decided to go over her plans for the next week and see if Lydia could be spared. She had two raids planned, one of which Lydia was supposed to lead. She thought for a moment and with some careful planning, she thought she could schedule around that.

Nodding to herself, knowing that she had to follow her heart, she picked up the phone to call Lydia to see if she wanted to take the assignment.

(BREAK)

Danny felt like his eyes were going to cross after trying to find all of the people on the naughty list. After splitting them up, he had five names to put correct identities to, Lindsay had seven. He glanced up to see her rubbing her eyes tiredly. “How you doing over there, Montana?”

Lindsay shook her head. “Do you know how many Alex Jones’ there are in this city? Four hundred and eight. That’s how I’m doing. Unless we get some way to narrow this down, we’re not going to be able to find anything,” she said in resignation.

Danny nodded just as his computer beeped. He turned around and a smile erupted onto his face. “I think we might have found our guy.”

“Really?” Lindsay said, getting up to walk behind him.

“Yeah. His description matches a missing man from Phoenix,” Danny said as he picked up the phone. “I’m going to call them and see if they have any fingerprints or DNA that we can try to compare it to.”

(BREAK)

Lydia hung up the phone and sighed softly. Hawkes looked at her, over their late brunch, with concern in his eyes. “What is it?”

Lydia drew her eyebrows together. “I’m not sure. Interpol has a lead on Cory’s mom. They think that she might be in Spain and they’ve asked that I fly over there to assist them in the search.”

Hawkes looked at her. “Okay. So, what’s the problem?”

Lydia sighed again. “We just started on a new case. We have raids planned and if I leave that means that the team I was leading would be on shaky ground. We have a couple of people that might be able to pull of the raid, but they’ve never been in charge before and Cory’s concerned that putting someone in there that hasn’t done the job could compromise the investigation.”

Hawkes nodded his understanding. “Is there a way to reschedule the raid until after you get back?”

“That’s the problem. Timing is very important on these and we need to hit them before they realize that we are investigating. It’s all going to depend on when Interpol wants me to be there.”

Hawkes smiled softly as he picked up her hand. “I have faith in you. You guys will work it out.”

Lydia smiled back at him. “I know, but enough work talk. This is the first day off we’ve had together in a couple of weeks. I want to enjoy it.”

Hawkes just laughed as they continued to eat.

(BREAK)

Danny set down the phone and smiled at Lindsay. “They have both DNA and fingerprints that they just hadn’t had a chance to enter into the system yet. Something about a backlog. They are emailing me the results right now.” His email beeped in response. Quickly, he got the DNA results from Adam and began to compare the two.

Lindsay looked over his shoulder at the same time and nodded her head. “Looks like a match. So, what’s our vic’s name?”

“Anthony Carelli. Formerly from the Bronx. He moved out to California about thirty years ago, hit it big in Silicon Valley and retired to Phoenix ten years ago. Seems that he made a practice of playing Santa during the holidays. He would pick a city, go and hand out cash to people in need.”

Lindsay’s eyebrows rose. “How much money are we talking here?”

Danny looked at her, shaking his head in disbelief. “100 grand a year. He would give away 100 grand a year to complete strangers.”

Lindsay shook her head in amazement. “Wow. So, who would want to kill him?”

“I don’t know. Phoenix also sent a copy of his friend and relatives that still live in the city, so I expect that Flack, you and I will be doing interviews.” Danny looked around. “Speaking of Flack, where is he? Usually just as we get good news, he shows up.”

Lindsay smiled. “He said that he had something to take care of this morning. I think that he was shopping for my Christmas present. This is the first time we haven’t been off together in the last couple of weeks.”

“Ahhh…” Danny trailed off, clearly knowing what Flack was buying her for Christmas. “Maybe you should call him and let him know what we’ve found?”

Lindsay just rolled her eyes. “I already sent him a text message,” she said as her phone beeped. “And, he says that he’ll be here in thirty minutes.”

(BREAK)

Cory got home from the office soon after talking to Lydia. She stared around the apartment, taking in the fact that she hadn’t even decorated for Christmas yet. She thought back to the week before Thanksgiving, the plans that she had made to decorate and sighed as depression settled over her.

She sat on the couch, staring out the window as she reviewed the previous weeks. Shaking her head, she decided to take a nap and drew the flannel blanket down off the back of the couch and over her, as she lay her head down on the armrest.

_Cory looked around at the warehouse she was standing in. The familiar surroundings caused fear to clench in her gut. She saw her mom, tied to the chair and the man, Etienne standing in front of her holding the knife._

_“Tell me about your daughter, the FBI agent,” he whispered threateningly._

_“What?” Alexis asked._

_“Your daughter, the one that Montoya tried so unsuccessfully to kill. Tell me about her. What are her weaknesses, how can I convince her to help me?” he asked in a quiet voice._

_“Help you do what?”_

_“Destroy America, what else?” he returned smugly._

_Alexis’ eyes opened wide and then she spat in his face. “Go to hell, you French pig.”_

_“Who said I was French?” Etienne backhanded her before holding the knife to her neck. “Tell me or I take your life,” he whispered in her ear._

_“Why? Why do you want to destroy America?” Alexis said, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. “And what the hell does my daughter have to do with it?”_

_Etienne grinned evilly. “She is the key to bypassing the security.”_

_Alexis shook her head. “I’d rather die than help you,” she said in between clenched teeth._

_Cory turned around as the knife moved, blood squirting from the severed artery._

Cory fell off the couch as she awoke, screaming. Shaking, she wrapped the blanket around her as she sat on the floor, terrified for her mother’s life.


	55. Blue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves attention. :D Thanks to Aphina and Axellia for the beta!

Chapter 55.

** Blue **

Danny arrived back at their apartment, frustrated with not being able to find any of the friends and family members of Anthony Carelli’s at home. When he walked in, he was shocked to see Cory sitting on the floor in front of their coffee table. “Cory? _Bella?_ What’s wrong?”

Cory looked at him in shock; she hadn’t heard him walk in. “I had another nightmare about Mom. I really think she’s in trouble, Danny. And I can’t help her,” she said quietly.

Danny sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her and felt her shaking. “Cory, are the dreams giving you anything to go on?” he asked her.

Cory leaned against him, relishing in the strength he was projecting. “Not really. She’s in a warehouse, tied to a chair and some man is asking her to give him info on me. She refuses and he kills her.” She shuddered at the memory. “I can’t even tell where the warehouse is. Absolutely no idea. Then I get home and I haven’t even decorated for Christmas! It’s my favorite season!”

Danny smiled softly. “How ‘bout I decorate for you? I think I can do that and if it makes you feel better, then it’s worth it.”

Cory smiled as she shook her head. “No. It doesn’t feel right to decorate when Mom is missing.” She thought for a moment. “What are y’all doing for Christmas? I have to work.”

“I’m going to cook,” Danny replied. “The guys will be over here, since all you women are working. Mac’s going to help me and we’ll save you leftovers.”

“Good. I’m sure that I’ll be hungry by the time I leave. Oh, Lydia may not be here. Alistair thinks that he found a lead on Mom in Spain and he has requested that she go over there to be a liaison with the Spanish police.”

Danny looked at her in awe. “Wow. That’s good, isn’t it?”

Cory frowned slightly. “My heart says yes, but my logical brain says no. I have raids planned that I really need her help on. The rest of the team isn’t up to leading a raid yet, but this is very time sensitive. If she goes, then it’s just going to make things a little more difficult for me, but it’ll be worth it if we rescue her.” Cory looked down and then leaned forward to bring her computer closer to her. “On that note, I need to see if I can reshuffle some things to make way. Lydia said she would give me her answer tomorrow.”

She booted up her computer and then really looked at Danny, who looked a little worn down. “You okay? You seem a little down,” she asked him lightly.

“I’m good. Just frustrated at my case. We know the guy’s identity, but now trying to find the murderer is frustrating.”

Cory patted his hand lightly. “You’ll find ‘em, sweetie. I know that. It just takes some time.”

“I know, it’s still frustrating,” Danny replied. He got up and stretched. “You hungry?” At Cory’s affirmative nod he continued, “How about Chinese tonight?”

“Sounds fabulous,” she said pulling up her email.

(BREAK)

The following day, Danny was back in the lab, trying to pin down who could have killed Carelli. They had pulled a background check on him and found some interesting things from when he was in New York.

“Hey, Flack?” Danny asked as he reviewed the file. “What about this gang he was involved with as a teenager? Do we have any names for them?”

Flack shook his head. “I’m working on it. I had to request the file from Vice, but since it’s so long ago, they are trying to find it.”

Danny nodded. “For some reason, I think that the Naughty list and this gang are involved.”

Lindsay nodded her agreement. “I think you’re right, Danny. I mean, this man has avoided New York for the last thirty years. Why come back now?” She pushed her hair behind her ears. “If we can find the reason that he left, maybe we can find a killer.”

Flack nodded. “I have a couple of interviews set up with his remaining friends and family members today. Maybe I can get something out of them,” he stated.

(BREAK)

Lydia walked into the FBI building still not knowing what she was going to do. Her and Sheldon had talked about her options extensively, but she was still undecided. She smiled at her memory of what Sheldon had said. _“Whatever you decide, I’m okay with. If you feel that you need to go to Spain to help Cory, then do it. If you feel that you are needed more here, then stay here. Cory will understand.”_

She had nodded and she knew deep in her heart that Cory would back whatever decision she made. She was still debating with herself when she walked into Cory’s office. She studied Cory, as she was talking on the phone and noticed the dark circles under her eyes, the lack of her normal sparkle.

Cory watched as Lydia walked in; it was obvious that she was torn over what to do. She made a motion with her hand as she was finishing up her phone call to Agent Michaels. “Yes, sir. I do believe that speed is of the essence with this. I want to carry out both of these raids within the next couple of days. Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,” she said before she hung up the phone. She turned to Lydia with a question in her eyes. “So…”

Lydia bit her lip, lightly. “I’ll do it. I’ll go to Spain and see if we can find your mom.”

Cory smiled softly. “I don’t know how to thank you, but I can tell you that you will be missed. I actually had two scenarios in mind and that’s what I was talking to Agent Michaels about. I talked to Alistair this morning and he would want you to be in Spain by Friday, so I’m moving the raids up to Wednesday.”

Lydia furrowed her brow. “When did you talk to him?” She glanced down at her watch. “It’s half past eight!”

Cory smiled. “I’ve been up since five. I got here at seven and he was my first call. They are five hours ahead of us. I caught him just as he was leaving for lunch.”

Lydia smiled. “Ah. I get it.”

Cory looked at her. “What made you decide?”

“I don’t know. I truly didn’t know my answer until I walked in here today, but it just seems like the right thing to do.”

“I really appreciate this, Lydia,” Cory said softly.

“Cory. You’ve done so much for me. It’s the least I can do.”

“Thanks. Listen; tell everyone that I want to pull up for a meeting at ten. I’ll go over the new plans with them and see if we can catch these smugglers.”

Lydia smiled and walked out of the office.

(BREAK)

Danny and Lindsay were standing outside of an interrogation room, watching Flack talk to the victim’s best friend from school.

“Listen, Michael. I know that you and Anthony were best friends during school. So tell me. Why’d he leave New York?” Flack asked.

Michael shifted uncomfortable in his chair. “What’s this all about?”

Flack refrained from rolling his eyes. “He’s dead. He was found dead a couple of days ago.”

Michael’s eyes opened wide. “What! How?”

“He was murdered and I am trying to find out who did it. So, why’d he leave New York?”

Michael sat back. “He had a run in with the gang. He wanted out. Wanted to change his life, the leader didn’t want him to go.”

“What was his name?”

“Rico. Rico Marchelli.”

“Do you know where I can find Rico?”

“In the cemetery. He was killed two years after Tony left.”

Flack sighed in frustration. “Okay. So did the gang hold grudges? Anyone blame him for Rico’s death? Anyone still alive?”

Michael shrugged. “I don’t know. I cut my ties with them a long time ago. I can give you a list of gang members, but I don’t know if they are still alive.”

Flack’s only response was to push him a pad of paper and a pen.

(BREAK)

Alexis looked around the villa that they were staying at. She realized that they were in Spain, but didn’t know where. She was concerned. For days, she had been having disturbing dreams about being killed by someone, but she couldn’t see their face. She walked from her bedroom, to a library where she found Montoya typing on a computer. “Alejandro?” she asked cautiously.

Montoya looked up at her with a smile on his face. “What is it?” he asked.

“Why don’t you just let me go? We are different people now. There is no way that I can love you,” she responded softly.

Montoya got a hard look on his face. “You are mine, _mi querida_. I will not let you go.”

Alexis just shook her head in defeat. “I will not submit to you, Alejandro. You killed my husband and tried to kill my daughter. I will never forget that,” she spat back to him as she left the room.

Agitated, she walked around the villa, trying to find something to occupy her time. She finally found herself in the kitchen, so she decided to make some tea. She was watching the tea kettle, waiting for it to whistle when she noticed Etienne leaving the house. Intrigued, she moved so that she could get a better view of him. She saw that he was on a cell phone, but couldn’t hear what he was saying. It was obvious that he was arguing with someone from his body language.

He looked up at the windows and noticed her looking at him. He shot her a glare then turned his back, obviously not wanting her to know what he was saying. _That was odd,_ she thought. _There is no way that I can hear him from inside the house, so why did he turn? Did he think that I was going to read his lips? I can only do that if he’s talking English, even then I’m not good at that. Very, very weird._

Her thoughts were interrupted by the tea kettle and she turned back to the stove, her mind trying to process everything.

(BREAK)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So, thoughts? Questions? Concerns? I will let you know, that I am writing a sequel to this called "The War at Home". It will pick up right after this ends, so there won't be any lag time. As far as I can tell right now, this one will be 64 chapters (pending my muse of course), so we're getting close!


	56. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves attention. :D I don’t own Tim O’Reilly. He was created by the wonderful Screaming-Poetically! Many thanks to Aphina and Axellia for betaing this!

**A/N:** _Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R &R. My muse loves the attention. :D I don’t own Tim O’Reilly. He was created by the wonderful Screaming-Poetically! Many thanks to Aphina and Axellia for betaing this!_

Chapter 56.

** No Good Deed Goes Unpunished **

After Michael was done writing the names down, Flack immediately took it to Danny and Lindsay. “All right. I have a list of name of people he used to run with in the gang,” he told them as handed the paper over.

Danny nodded and immediately compared them to the Naughty list. He smirked as he looked at Flack. “All of the names on the list match what he gave you.”

Flack nodded. “I started a background check on the names. See if we can find anything out.” He grabbed the list of names from the Naughty list and turned to leave.

Danny watched as he walked out, a glimmer on an idea coming to his head. “Hey, Montana?” he said as he turned around. “Now that we know that Naughty list is ex-gang members, maybe the Nice list is people that he wronged when he was in the gang?”

Lindsay bit her lip, debating his idea. “It’s worth a shot, but we still don’t have the gang’s file.” She cocked her head to the side. “But, there should be records in the system based on him alone. I’ll check it out.”

Danny nodded as she turned and began tapping the keys on the keyboard.

(BREAK)

Cory walked out of her staff meeting, feeling a little more hope. The team had backed her plan of making an earlier raid, in fact, more than half were happy about the change, saying that it would catch the gang more off guard. She walked back into her office, to find a list of messages as well as a furiously blinking voicemail message light. Sighing, she decided to check the voicemails first.

Her jaw dropped when she listened to the first message. 

_“Cory, it’s Tim O’Reilly. I wanted to let you know that I’m officially back in New York. Listen, I need your help with a case. It involved Asian money laundering. I was told you were the woman to talk to. Give me a call.”_

She quickly wrote down the rest of her voicemails and then called Tim back. 

_“O’Reilly.”_

“Tim, it’s Cory. What’s going on?”

_“Cory! I’m so glad that you called me back. I’ve been working on a case with money laundering and it turns out that you are in the middle of the investigation. Can we meet for lunch to go over the fine points?”_

Cory smiled. “Of course. I’m actually free in about an hour if you want to go. I can’t release much information, but I see what I can do to help you.”

_“Perfect. See you then,”_ O’Reilly said after they agreed on where to meet.

Cory hurried through the rest of her messages before letting Lydia know that she was going out for lunch. Soon she was sitting in a posh restaurant across the table from O’Reilly. She smiled at him. “Tim. How are you?”

The tall, brown eyed man smiled back at her. “I’m good. I liked Texas, but I’m happy to be back,” he said, his accent a weird mixture of South Boston and Texan.

Cory smiled. “I’m just thankful you were in Texas when Ortiz went to trial. Speaking of which, he’s been quiet recently.”

O’Reilly raised an eyebrow. “I think the news that you were almost killed hit home for him. Last I heard from his attorney, who just lost the final appeal by the way, he blames himself for getting you involved in the FBI gang unit and he decided to cut off all contact.”

Cory shrugged. “Can’t say that I’m not happy about that. So, you were wanting information on the Asian money launderers.”

Tim nodded. “I need to know where you stand. Anything I can file charges on yet?”

Cory looked at him. “Tim? I’m good, but I ain’t that good. I just got the case on Friday! But I do have a couple of raids planned, so I might have something for you by Friday.” She furrowed her brow. “What’s the rush on this? I’ve never seen you so anxious about a case.”

He shrugged a little. “I don’t know. I’ve got a funny feeling about this. It’s just my gut.”

Cory studied him. “I’ll keep that in mind. I have pushed up my timetable a bit. So, I’ll see what I get this week.”

O’Reilly smiled. “Good. I was so happy when I saw that you were the investigating agent.”

Cory smiled as the waiter arrived to take their orders.

(BREAK)

Lindsay was still researching the Nice names when Flack walked back in. “It’s a no go on the Naughty names. All of them are dead,” he said shaking his hand in frustration.

Lindsay smiled at him. “That’s okay. I think I may have something. Danny had the idea to cross check the Nice names against people that he might have done something bad to when he was in the gang. So far, all of the names do check back to either the person that he stole from or assaulted or their closest family member if they are deceased.”

Flack’s mind whirled. “So he was trying to make up for his past wrongs?”

Danny nodded. “Yeah. That’s what we think. So what if he contacted someone who was still carrying a grudge and they snapped.”

Lindsay printed a quick list off and handed it to Flack. “Here’s a new suspect list,” she said. Flack nodded and left quickly with Lindsay calling out, “Good luck!” to his retreating back.

(BREAK)

After an hour of researching the names on the Nice list, Flack had narrowed the list down to three names. Alex Jones, Sabrina Chestnut and Billy Knight. Making some calls, he invited each of them down to the station to see if he could get any information from them.

Alex Jones was first. Flack met him in an interrogation room. “So, Mr. Jones. Thank you for coming down,” he greeted him, trying not to come down to hard.

“What’s this about, Detective?” the white haired gentleman asked pleasantly.

Flack placed a photo of the dead Santa in front of him. “Do you know this man?”

Mr. Jones picked up the photograph and studied it intently before shaking his head. “No. I don’t know him.”

Flack sighed, not sure if he was telling the truth or not. “His name is Anthony Carelli, from Phoenix. We have reason to believe that he was trying to contact you.”

Mr. Jones looked at him, confused. “Why?”

“He was the man who assaulted you thirty years ago.”

Mr. Jones looked shocked. “Why would he try to contact me?”

Flack shook his head. “We believe that he was trying to make up for his past mistakes. We’re not sure how, but if he hadn’t contacted you, then we might never find out why.”

“I wish I could help, Detective. But I don’t know,” he said as he shrugged.

Flack nodded. “Thank you for your time,” he said as he ushered the man out of the room.

Shaking his head in frustration, Flack awaited the next “suspect” to arrive.

\----------------------------------

When Cory got back to work, she quickly pulled her email back up. She had sent an email to Alistair to let him know that Lydia was willing to fly to Spain. She smiled as she read his response. It was a simple, _“Wonderful. I’ll email her the flight details.”_ She shook her head as she smiled.

Then she pulled out her files and began to get everything set up for the two raids they had planned. Both locations were in Chinatown, with one being a fireworks factory. That was the one she was leading, since it had the potential to be explosive. Lydia was going to hit another warehouse in the area where they suspected that the more money laundering was taking place.

She pulled out the floor plans of both warehouse, trying to lay out exactly how she wanted her teams to go in. She didn’t know exactly what kind of weapons that the gang had access to, so she was planning on being extra cautious. She was planning for the worst, and hoping for the best.

She was still wrapped up in the blueprints when Lydia walked in. “Hey,” she called from the door.

Cory looked up and smiled. “Hey. Did you get an email from Alistair with your flight information?”

Lydia nodded. “A couple of minutes ago. Thursday is going to be a long day,” she said scrunching her nose up.

“I kinda figured that,” Cory responded as she leaned back. “At least you’ll get most of Wednesday off. We’ll just have to do paperwork and any remaining interrogations that are left.” She reached over to her computer and pulled up an email. “I got an email from INS and if we catch some the people that they hope we are, most will be deported.”

Lydia nodded. “That leaves less paperwork for us!”

Cory just nodded as she laughed. Then she pointed to the blueprints. “I was just going over the floor plans, trying to plan the best way to go in.”

Lydia leaned over the desk, looking at the maps upside down. “Huh. Which one is the one I’m going in?” Cory drew that one atop the other and turned it around so Lydia could see it better. “Well,” Lydia began, “we’ll definitely go in front and rear, but I also want to leave a small team outside just in case.” She traced her finger along the corridors. “We can split into smaller teams of two and methodically go through the building.”

Cory nodded her agreement. “That’s what I was thinking. Total agents involved, twenty, including us. We can leave four outside, two in the front, two in the rear of each warehouse and six to go in.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Lydia said. “I’ll draw up a list of agents that I want with me and get it to you by the end of the day.”

Cory nodded. “Thanks. I’ll notify everyone. Are we still wanting to hit them early in the morning? If so, get me the list by three. That way I’ll be able to juggle everyone’s schedules.”

“Will do,” Lydia replied as she turned to walk out of the office, leaving Cory to go over the final details of the raids.

(BREAK)

**AN:** _So the plot is beginning to thicken! Now the question is...How does all of this tie together?? (:p) Okay. I just finished writing the final chapter of Deja Vu and the sequel is going to be called "The War at Home." Look for that! On a side note...Only 3 reviews?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So the plot is beginning to thicken! Now the question is...How does all of this tie together?? (:p) Okay. I just finished writing the final chapter of Deja Vu and the sequel is going to be called "The War at Home." Look for that! O


	57. Getting Away with Murder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves the attention. :D The song title is from Papa Roach. Many thanks to both Aphina and Axellia for being completely awesome betas!!

Chapter 57.

** Getting Away with Murder **

The following day, Cory looked around at the assembled FBI agents. Most of them she had worked with before and she was trusted all of them with her life. She nodded to Lydia who stood on her right. “All right y’all. We are going to break you into the individual teams,” she stated before telling each agent what team they were on. “Everyone on Team One, follow me. Team Two, follow Lydia.”

She led her group of ten to the opposite side of the conference room where blueprints of the warehouse were posted on the wall. “Okay, here is the layout. Erin, Mikhail, Sam and Julio, I want y’all posted outside of the entrances. If anyone gets outside, then apprehend them.” She pointed to the other five agents. “Angela, Mike and Antonio, y’all are going in the rear. Debra, John and I will go in the front. We will search from top to bottom. What we are looking for is anything that can tie these guys to money laundering. Stay sharp and stay focused. As far as we know, they don’t know we are coming in, but I also have no clue what their firepower is, so be prepared.” She smiled as the team nodded. “Good. We are hitting them at ten, so make sure you are here by eight. I suggest everyone go home and get a couple of hours of sleep before you come back here.”

The team nodded to her before exiting the conference room. She turned to Lydia. “You ready?”

Lydia nodded to her. “I think so. I’m going to head home after lunch. Sheldon is working the night shift tonight, so we’ll get to spend some time together until I have to leave. I may even go running with him later.”

Cory smiled. “That’s a good way to work off the nerves. I may call and see if I can join you. Danny’s not much into jogging, but it has always been my release. It’s one thing I miss about Dallas. The weather is nice there for a majority of the time, barring the God awful summers, so I always jogged when I was stressed out.” She laughed ironically. “The treadmill just doesn’t cut it sometimes!”

Lydia laughed. “I know what you mean. Sometimes you just want the wind in your hair and even a chilly breeze! What about you? What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to try to catch some sleep, but if insomnia persists, I’ll work on the wedding plans. I’ve narrowed down the invitations down to three choices, but I’m having problems choosing between them and every time I ask Danny,” she paused with an eye roll, “he just says, “Whatever you want is fine.” I swear, I’m going to hit him some day!”

Lydia laughed. “Aren’t all men like that?”

Cory thought for a moment. “I guess so. James wasn’t any more help when we were planning our wedding. I should have known. I just wish that I could get him more involved, ya know?”

Lydia shrugged. “He’ll get there. Maybe when everything calms down…”

Cory looked at her in amazement. “Lydia, we work in law enforcement. The only way that things will calm down is if everyone suddenly decides to follow the law!”

Lydia shook her head and laughed. “I guess your right. I think he’ll get there. I’m sure he’ll want to help choose the food.”

Cory snorted in her laughter. “Okay. I’m going home now. I’ll see you at seven.”

Lydia nodded. “I’ll call you if Sheldon and I do decide to go running and you can join us.”

“Thanks,” Cory said with a smile as she walked out of conference room.

(BREAK)

Flack was set to interview the final “suspect”, Sabrina Chestnut. The second interview with Billy Knight had been as productive as with Alex Jones, so he had high hopes for the final interview.

He stopped by the lab to see if Lindsay and Danny had any additional information for him. “Messer? Got anything for me?”

Danny looked up and shook his head. “Nope. We went over his hotel room, but couldn’t find any information. Also, per your request, we went over the file for Philip Chestnut, Sabrina’s brother. It looks like after he was mugged by Carelli he spun down out of control. Got heavily into drugs and finally committed suicide ten years ago.”

Lindsay sat down next to them. “From what I could find out, Sabrina made some rather inflammatory remarks about Carelli at her brother’s funeral. She blamed his death on Carelli.”

Flack nodded. “I might be able to use that to get her to confess if she did kill him. Any evidence?”

“Unfortunately, none,” Lindsay responded. “He was killed by an overdose of the designer drug called Candy Cane. It was laced in a real candy cane, which could have been given to him anywhere. Unless you get a confession, there is no way to prosecute it.”

Flack nodded, knowing the gravity of the situation. “I’ll do what I can without any evidence to back me up,” he said as he turned to walk out of the lab.

(BREAK)

Cory awoke from her nap around two p.m., thankful that she hadn’t had a nightmarish vision. She stretched, feeling decadent for sleeping in the middle of the day, until she remembered why she was sleeping in the first place. Crawling out of the bed, she quickly put on a pair of sweats and walked into the kitchen, yawning slightly.

She had just put water on to boil for tea when her phone rang. She quickly walked to the living room and grabbed it. “Reid.”

_“Hey, Cory. It’s Lydia. Sheldon and I are definitely going for a run. You wanna join us?”_

“Definitely. What time are y’all going?”

_“Four. That’ll give us plenty of time to get ready for the raid tonight.”_

“Okay. I’ll be over at y’all’s place around three-thirty then.”

_“See you then!”_ Lydia said with enthusiasm.

Cory hung up the phone and returned to her tea.

A few hours later, she was standing bent over, huffing, trying to get air into her burning lungs. “God, Hawkes. I need to run with you more often!” she said, gasping. “I’m so out of shape.”

Lydia wasn’t in much better shape than her, their breath steaming the air up around them. “I know. I thought I was in good shape!” Lydia moaned.

Hawked laughed lightly, winded but not as out of breath as the girls. “Naw. I’m just used to running in this kind of cold. You guys aren’t.”

Cory just shook her head, finally catching her breath. “Well, one thing’s for certain. We need to do this again. I feel so much calmer and centered now. I feel ready for the raid.”

Lydia nodded her agreement as they parted to go get ready for what lay ahead.

(BREAK)

Flack looked across the table at the cocky brunette. She looked at him from her seat and he could feel the animosity rolling off of her in waves. “Ms. Chestnut, thank you for coming down.”

She just shot him a glare. “Why am I here?”

Flack bit back his biting remark, knowing that he needed to lure her into a sense of security. Instead, he just laid a photo down on the table in front of her. “Recognize him?”

She glanced at the photo and then back to Flack. “Should I?” she asked sarcastically.

“Does the name Anthony Carelli mean anything to you?” Flack persisted patiently.

“He’s the ass who ruined my family,” Sabrina said with malice dripping through her voice.

Flack grinned internally as he sensed that he might be able to get her angry enough to snap. “Really? Why is that?”

Sabrina looked at him, suspecting something behind the innocent question. “Why is this important?” she asked skeptically.

“He was found dead a few days ago.” He noticed her lack of expression. “You don’t seem to be disturbed about that.”

“Why should I be? I’m happy that he is dead and he can pay for his crimes. I hope the bastard rots in hell,” she said without expression.

“Really? Would it interest you to find out he was murdered?” Flack asked casually. Sabrina did not show any response so Flack continued, “And that you are one of the prime suspects?”

Sabrina still maintained her non emotional mask. “Really? Why would that be? What reason do I have to harm him?”

Flack grinned cockily. “You’ve expressed a desire to see him dead.”

Sabrina smiled coldly. “So. I wanted him dead. That’s not a big surprise, but I didn’t kill him. Why destroy myself just to exact revenge?” She smirked. “I’m sorry, Detective, but you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

“Can you tell me where you were during the hours of four to nine a.m. on last Thursday?”

“At home, asleep until six and then I went to work. I got to work at eight,” she responded instantly.

“Can anyone verify that?”

“My boss and my timecard will verify what time I arrived at work, but I do live alone.”

Flack nodded. “Here’s what I think happened. Carelli is feeling bad for all the things he did in the past, so he comes back to New York to see what he could do to fix it. He made out a list, a Naughty and Nice list, and discovered that everyone on the Naughty list was dead. So, he did some research and started to make reparations to his living victims, or their closest living relative. So, he contacted you and wanted to meet you to try to compensate you for your loss. You agreed to meet him and snapped. Slipped him a new designer drug and watched him die.”

Sabrina laughed. “You got an evidence to support that? I think if you did, I would be sitting her in handcuffs instead of being invited to come in to talk.” She stood up, pulling the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “I think I’ll leave now since you have nothing to hold me.”

Flack looked after her, knowing that he had just lost the battle of wits. Shaking his head, he watched as she left the room, knowing that she had killed him, but had no evidence to support that. He closed his eyes, upset that some one was going to get away with murder.

(BREAK)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Wow. Anyway, don't shoot me because they didn't catch the bad guy (or gal) this time. I'm trying to make this realistic and sometimes murderers go free! If y'all want, take a stroll and head over to my new Adam fic called The Lure of Chocolate. It is based in this universe since I'm using Cory, but she will be a fairly minor character. I think it's time that I gave Adam some love!


	58. Adrenaline

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves attention. :D The song title is from Gavin Rossdale. Many thanks to Aphina and Axellia, without whom I would have so many mistakes and a dead-end plot!

Chapter 58.

** Adrenaline **

Cory and Lydia both checked all of their gear as they finished getting ready. Cory was carrying three guns in total, a rifle, her normal Glock and her Smith and Wesson .22 backup. She looked at Lydia and smiled. “You ready?”

Lydia looked at her. “Definitely. So these guys are just suspected of money laundering?”

Cory nodded. “From what I was given, yeah, but if they are part of the Chinese Mob, I expect a lot more is going on there. Be prepared for anything.”

Lydia nodded as she split off from the command group, grabbed her agents and began to make her way to her staging area.

Fifteen minutes later, Lydia’s voice came across Cory’s headset. _“Team Two, in position. You ready, Cory?”_

“We’re ready, Lyd. You call it when you’re ready,” Cory replied.

_“On my mark. Three, two, one, GO!”_ Lydia voice came over the headset.

Cory motioned for her team to go in. She followed John, who had the battering ram with Debra right behind her. She could hear Mike on the headset stating that it was clear where he was. 

The three of them walked into the warehouse’s maze of rooms, clearing each one methodically. Finally, they came upon the final door, which if she remembered the blueprints correctly, housed the main storage room which was about 150 square feet.

With a nod, she tested the doorknob, to find it locked. She motioned to John to open it with ram. As soon as it was broken down there was a shout in Chinese and gunfire erupted. The three of them took cover and quickly returned fire. “Mike, I need your team to get here now! We are under fire!” she calmly ordered into the headset as she squeezed off a couple of rounds. There was a lull in the gunfire and her and Debra rushed into the room to see a group of five Asian with three of them reloading their guns.

The men looked up as Cory screamed out, “FBI! Drop your weapons!” None of them complied, which caused Cory to dive for cover as they opened fire again. She glanced around the room, taking note of printing presses and stacks of blank paper. Her eyes opened wide as she realized what they had stumbled across. _Shit! This is a counterfeiting operation!_

She rose up and squeezed off a couple more shots, taking down two of the men, just as the second team burst into the room. Within moments, the six FBI agents had all of the men in cuffs, while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.

Cory investigated the room, taking stock on the quality of bills that were being produced. The money looked completely real. She opened up one of the printing presses and noticed that the printing plates in use looked like authentic plates from the United States Mint.

_“Cory?”_ Lydia asked over the headset. _“Everything okay?”_

Cory smiled. “Yeah. We’re all fine. It’s just the bad guys that got shot. Although, I looks like they were doing a hell of a lot more than money laundering. I’ve got a full printing press set up over here. What about you?”

_“Stacks and stacks of cash, which all look real. What were they doing with all of this money?”_

Cory sighed. “I don’t know. You got any men over there?”

_“Just two guys that were guarding the warehouse. It was an easy raid.”_

Cory nodded to herself. “Take those men into custody. I’m going to try and box up all this evidence, although I know that the Treasury department will probably want in on this investigation. I’d better make thorough notes. I’ll see you in the debriefing tomorrow morning,” Cory stated before beginning to organize the crew to take pictures and begin to box up the evidence.

(BREAK)

When Cory finally got back home, she noticed Danny sitting on the couch playing _God of War,_ on the Playstation. “Hey, _chere,_ ” she said tiredly.

Danny paused the game and smiled. “Raid go okay?”

She shrugged. “It was enlightening, but I can’t talk about it yet. How is your Santa case going?”

Danny shook his head. “We know who killed him but have absolutely no evidence to back it up. She’s gonna walk.”

Cory grimaced as she sat down on the couch, the adrenaline had finally worn off and her body was beginning to ache all over. “That sucks. I hate it when that happens.”

Danny noticed her grimace and the fact she was walking a bit slower than usual. “You okay?” he asked concerned.

“Just tired. I had to dive for cover a couple of times and I just ache all over,” she muttered as she closed her eyes and tilted her head back.

Danny smirked. “Why don’t you go take a hot bath and when you’re done, I’ll give you a massage.”

Cory opened her eyes and looked at him. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

Danny laughed. “Just go. Let me take care of you.”

Cory nodded as she pushed herself off of the couch. “All right. I’m not going to turn down a massage.”

An hour later, Cory was sighing in bliss as Danny’s hands worked magic on her sore muscles. She grunted in pain a couple of times as he hit an exceptionally sore spot, but otherwise, she was drifting off to sleep. She was almost asleep when he hands took on a more caressing tone to which she willingly gave herself up to with a sigh of pleasure.

(BREAK)

The next morning, after their debriefing, Cory watched Lydia rush around her office in a panic. “Oh, Lord. Do I have everything?” she was muttering under her breath.

“Um, Lyd? Calm down. I’ve watched you check over your bags three times already. I think you have everything,” Cory said with laughter in her voice.

Lydia just shook her head. “I just hate leaving anything behind and Sheldon didn’t help last night!” she said blushing slightly.

Cory winked at her. “I think you have everything. Did you make sure to call the Air Marshall’s and let them know that you were on board?”

Lydia nodded. “I did that the day I got the email with the flight info. I’ve got my gun stored in my carryon, and everything else in the rest of my luggage,” she said as she finally calmed down. She took a deep breath. “Okay. You’re right. I’m running around like a chicken with its head cut off when I’ve been packed for two days!”

Cory just shook her head. “It’ll be okay. Alistair said that he would meet you at the airport and take you to the hotel. I’m sure everything will be fine. I hope that you can find her,” Cory ended softly.

Lydia saw the dark wave of emotions that flitted across Cory’s face. “I’m sure we will, Cory. Montoya’s not going to kill her. He’s in love with her.”

Cory looked at Lydia and saw the concern on her face. “I know—I just want to have her back. I just want a chance to apologize to her.”

“You’ll get that chance, Cory. I promise,” Lydia said softly as she picked up her bags. “I’ll call you when I land.”

Cory nodded. “Thanks, Lydia. Just keep me in the loop. Either email or just call my cell.”

“I will. Bye.”

Several hours later, Cory looked up as a dark haired man in a suit walked into her office. She pasted a smile on her face, already suspecting what he wanted. “May I help you?” she asked pleasantly. 

“Agent Reid? I’m Agent Donovan, Treasury Department,” he said as he flipped open his ID. “I’m here about the raid you conducted last night.”

Cory smiled softly as she raised an eyebrow. “I expected one of y’all so show up sooner. You want to take over the case,” she stated, not bothering to even form it as a question.

Agent Donavan’s emerald green eyes twinkled. “Sorry, I was caught up in traffic,” he deadpanned. “You’re not upset that we want the case?”

Cory shook her head. “Honestly, I’m not surprised. I knew the minute that I saw authentic Mint plates that y’all would take it over. I am disappointed, though. I have this gut feeling that this goes a lot deeper than counterfeiting. I’d love to sink my teeth into the case, but I won’t fight you on it.”

Agent Donovan nodded. “Thank you for that. You are right; this does go deeper. Once I get a look at the plates, I’ll know for sure. I believe that these are plates that were stolen two years ago and they have changed hands several times.”

Cory raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Six months ago, the Treasury Department had a lead on the plates; they were in the hands of a Mexican gang. Before that, another gang. We have no idea how they were stolen in the first place.”

Cory nodded. “Huh. Well, if you need any help whatsoever, feel free to contact me.” She quickly withdrew a business card and wrote a number on the back. “Here’s my card. That’s my cell phone on the back. If you can’t get me here, I almost always answer my cell.”

Agent Donovan smiled. “Thank you. I’ll do that,” he said as Cory stood up to guide him to where all the evidence was stored.

(BREAK)

Alexis was awoken in the middle of the night by shouting. She blinked her eyes which were a blurry with sleep, trying to make out what was being said, but was unsuccessful. She focused instead on the voices. Montoya and Etienne. As she finally blinked into full awareness, she began to wonder just what the two of them were arguing about.

She crawled deeper underneath the covers as their voices grew closer. Their voices grew clearer the closer they moved to her room.

“She is a weakness, Montoya. You need to get rid of her,” Etienne was saying.

“You insolent French pig,” Montoya growled. “Why the hell are you here, Etienne? Tell me the real reason.”

“We have no time for that now, Montoya. The police are closing in on this location and we need to leave, now. Leave her behind. They will stop hunting you if you leave her behind.”

“No! Alexis comes with me and if you don’t like it, you can leave, Etienne. I never asked for you to be here and I certainly don’t need you here.”

Alexis heard Etienne sigh in derision. “Fine. We need to leave. Now.”

“Meet me outside in fifteen minutes,” Montoya stated, clearly dismissing Etienne before opening the door to Alexis’ room.

Alexis sat up in bed when the door opened. “What’s going on?” she asked quietly.

“Nothing to worry yourself about, my love,” Montoya said with an air of calm around him. “We need to leave, my love. Please get dressed and meet me in my room in ten minutes.”

“What if I don’t want to go?” Alexis responded, hoping to get him to leave her alone.

Montoya looked at her, shocked that she would want to stay away from him.

Alexis rolled her eyes. “Alejandro? Really? Did you really believe that I would want to come with you? You tried to kill my daughter. You killed my husband!”

Montoya’s face became stony. “Get dressed,” he snarled. “You have ten minutes and I’m then I’m dragging you out of here in whatever you are wearing.” He turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.

Alexis sighed before getting out of bed and getting dressed. Five minutes later, she had thrown all of her clothes into a suitcase and was ready to leave. She had just reached Montoya’s room when he walked out, grabbed her arm and pulled her into the night.

(BREAK)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Duh duh da! The plot is starting to thicken a bit more and I sense rough seas ahead for all involved! Go check out my side projects: The Lure of Chocolate, which is an AdamOC story that is based in this world with Danny and Cory, Poisoned Pen, which is a simple story about a case (if any of my stories are ever simple!) and a new chapter of Gotham's Heroes, is finally up!


	59. Blue Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves attention. :D The song title is from Elvis Presley.

Chapter 59.

** Blue Christmas **

Cory woke up on Christmas morning, feeling the black depths of despair washing over her. It had been almost a week since Lydia had gone to Spain and they had nothing to show for it. Lydia had called her the night before saying that they were at another dead end. To cap it all off, she’d been having dreams about Danny dying horribly at the hands of Montoya.

She had crawled into bed, numb with pain and despair. She had finally fallen asleep, long after Danny, only to sleep for a few hours. She gently crawled out of bed, so as to not wake him up and crept out of the apartment to go to her office.

When she got there, she sat at her desk, pouring over all her files on Montoya. Looking for clues, looking for something to bring light back into her life. She tried to focus, to center her thoughts but they kept swirling chaotically. 

Finally, in frustration, she threw her pen down and bent over to her briefcase. She opened it up and stared at the book lying in it. Her wedding book. The one book with all her plans for her wedding in. The one book she hadn’t touched in months. It wasn’t that she did love Danny and want to marry him, but it didn’t feel right. Without her mom there, nothing felt right. Shaking her head, she snapped the briefcase shut again and looked back down at her file on Montoya. Trying to sort out her feelings.

\----------------------------------

When Danny woke up, he noticed that Cory was not in the bed. Shaking his head, he got up, knowing that she had been having problems sleeping. _That’s it. I’m calling her out. I’ll make her talk to me._ He walked out of the bedroom, looking for her, only to find the apartment empty. Cursing under his breath, he exhaled, trying not to explode. _Damn it! She’s running away from everything, even me!_ He sat down on the couch in resignation. _What am I supposed to do?_ He shook his head and got back up. Like it or not, he had a Christmas dinner to prepare.

Several hours later, he almost had everything ready for lunch. He was wryly thinking about all the times that Cory had cooked for them and how easy that he had it. Not that he didn’t enjoy cooking, but having someone else cook a big meal for you, was nice, he decided.

He was just finishing up the mashed potatoes when the doorbell rang. Humming softly under his breath, he walked to the door to find Taylor and Marty standing there. Marty was carrying dessert, Taylor a bottle of wine.

He welcomed them in and Marty joined him in the kitchen, to try to finish up lunch. “How’ve ya been, Marty?” Danny asked.

Marty shrugged. “You know, overworked and underpaid. Hopefully after the holidays the body rush will calm down a little bit. How’s Cory doing?”

Danny looked at him in surprise. “Why?”

Marty raised an eyebrow. “She was kidnapped and her mother is missing. It doesn’t take a psychiatrist to know that she’s gotta be feeling some trauma.”

Danny nodded. “She’s holding it together. It hasn’t been easy for her, but she’s strong,” Danny said, the lie rolling off of his tongue. He was thankfully interrupted by Flack and Lindsay coming in. “Flack. Montana? I thought you had to work,” Danny said in surprise.

Lindsay just smiled. “Crime has decided to take a small breather. Both Stella and I have our phones and if there are any calls out we have to leave, but otherwise, we’re free to stay here.” She smiled at them. “Why don’t I go into the living room and let you men folk do the work. It’s a nice change.”

Danny just rolled his eyes at her as she left the room. “So Flack…” he began as he directed them to help him finish up lunch.

In the living room, Stella, Taylor and Lindsay were catching up. Taylor with a look of concern in her eyes. “Any of you talk to Cory much lately?” she asked.

Stella looked at her in surprise. “Not a lot. We’ve been busy with the usual pre-holiday crime wave. Why?”

Taylor nodded. “I just get this feeling that she is not coping as well as she could be.”

Lindsay nodded. “You know, she has been kinda distant lately. I know that I’ve wanted to get together for lunch a couple of times, but she always says that she’s working on a case.”

Stella thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, she has. Maybe she’s just trying to process everything? You know when she’s stressed she likes to be alone. She usually doesn’t even want Danny around. I think that is her way of coping,” she tried to explain.

Taylor shook her head, not believing that was what was going on, but she didn’t want to cause a fight. “Could be,” she finally said, making a mental note to talk to Danny when she had a chance. Little did she know that her chance wouldn’t come until they were all leaving to go home.

The rest of the group had left. Stella and Lindsay had a call out a little after six, so the party decided to break up. Danny was in the kitchen, so Taylor took her chance. “Marty? I’ll meet you at the car,” she said softly.

Marty nodded, knowing that she wanted to talk to Danny. They’d had an interesting conversation on the way over; one that included Maddy and Aiden. “Okay. Don’t take to long,” he said as he gave her a soft kiss.

Taylor smiled as she turned and walked towards the kitchen. “Danny?” she called softly.

“Yeah?”

“Is everything okay with Cory?”

Danny looked at her, not surprised. “Why do you ask?”

Taylor drew in a breath, choosing her words carefully. “Maddy. She said that Cory’s refusing to talk to Armando about some dreams she’s been having about her mom.” She bit her lip a little, hoping that Danny would open up to her.

Danny’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “She barely talks to me anymore, Tay. It’s like we’re two different people occupying the same space. From what she’s told me, she keeps seeing her mom being killed and she’s just shut down. I don’t know if she’s holding it all in or if she’s trying to run away, but…” he trailed off, unable to verbalize his feelings.

Taylor nodded. “Look. Maddy gave me some advice to give to you. Don’t let her shut you out. She needs someone to talk to about whatever is going on. She may try to drive you away, but don’t let her.” She smiled at him before continuing, “And Danny? If you need to talk, you know my number.”

Danny smiled tiredly at Taylor. “Thanks, Taylor. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Taylor just waved over her shoulder as she left.

Danny hung up the towel he’d been using to dry dishes with and decided to call Cory. He knew that she should have been home a little after five, but he had a feeling she was avoiding things. He called both her office number and her cell, but only got voicemail. Frustrated, he kept himself from throwing the phone across the room. _Fine. Ya wanna play it that way? If you won’t come to me, I’ll come to you,_ he thought as he grabbed his keys and left the apartment.

\----------------------------------

Cory was sitting in her darkened office, staring out the window. She had long since stopped answering her phone. She stared at the New York skyline, feeling as numb as she could be when she heard Danny walk in.

“Cory? _Bella?_ What are you doing?” he asked softly.

Cory didn’t turn to look at him. “I can’t do this anymore, Danny,” she said quietly.

Danny looked around at the office. Papers were strewn everywhere and her wedding book was lying in a broken heap by the door. “Can’t do what, sweetheart?”

Cory turned around, shrugging, pointing around the office. “This! Everything! I just—I just can’t!” She closed her eyes as she turned around, knowing that she had to tell him about the decision that she’d made. “I can’t marry you,” she said so softly that Danny wasn’t sure that he’d heard her correctly.

“What do you mean that you can’t marry me?” he asked in shock. “What’s going on with you?”

“Just go Danny. Just go.”

Danny felt something snap inside of him and his anger took over. “No. I will not _just go!_ Damn it, Cory, you owe me an explanation. Why now? Why can’t you marry me?” he pleaded with her, trying to break through the shell she had wrapped herself in.

Cory turned around, the numbness gone and pain shining in her eyes. “Look around, Danny. Everyone I love dies. You don’t deserve that. I’m cursed. First James, then Mike, Armando, Dad. I can’t lose you, too!” she cried as tears began to flow down her cheeks. “Mom’s missing and I can’t seem to find her. What the hell good is it for me to be an FBI agent if I can’t find my own mother?” She backed away as Danny took a step towards her. “No. Everything I touch gets cursed. I can’t do that to you, Danny. I love you too much to let that happen. So, I can’t marry you. You deserve to be with someone that won’t be the cause of your death!”

Danny shook his head and kept moving towards her until she didn’t have anywhere to go. He gently cupped her face with his hands. “I ain’t going nowhere, sweetheart. You are not cursed. You being with me will not cause my death. Even if it did, that’s a death that I would willingly go to.” He gently brushed the tears leaving tracks on her cheeks.

Cory shook her head. “You don’t understand, Danny. I’ve been having dreams about you dying. Visions. Montoya kills you because of me. I won’t let that happen. I can’t knowingly cause a death.” She tried to move away, but he wouldn’t let her.

“Cory? Didn’t you tell me that the future is not set in stone? Each and every decision that we make changes it,” he said calmly, trying to reason with her. “If I knew for certain, that I would die tomorrow because of my relationship with you, I wouldn’t change a damn thing. So stop trying to protect me. I’m not leaving you.”

Cory felt her knees crumble as she fell to the floor where Danny gathered her into his arms. “I can’t Danny,” she mumbled into his chest.

Danny sighed. “Look. Why don’t we put off the wedding, until we find out about your mom? I know you’ve been having problems trying to plan with everything that’s happened. I don’t care if I marry you in October or next year sometime. What matters is that I’m with you.”

Cory couldn’t think of a response. She couldn’t come up with the words that she needed to make him understand. All she could do was sit and cry; certain that by staying with him, she was condemning him to certain death. But she was too tired to fight him. Too drained to do more than clutch at his shirt and pray to any god she could think of that he would be safe.

Danny wrapped his arms tightly around her, rocking her gently in his arms, murmuring into her hair that he would never leave her. Praying to God that he’d gotten through to her.


	60. Last Resort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves attention. :D The song title is from Papa Roach.

Chapter 60.

** Last Resort **

Lydia sighed tiredly. She’d been running on fumes, only sleeping two or three hours a night, since she had gotten to Spain. Finally when it looked like they had a break, Spanish laws were making it difficult for them to get a warrant to raid the house. To top all of that off, the last time she’d talked with Cory, she had sounded really depressed and she wasn’t sure what she would do if they didn’t find her mom.

Finally, they got the call. The judge had signed off on the warrant. Excited, she strapped herself into the protective gear and checked her gun. Nodding to her contact on the Spanish force, she told him that she was ready. The man just nodded and they stormed into the house. Only to find it abandoned. “Damn it!” she exclaimed in her anger.

She turned to the man and began to fire off in rapid Spanish. “See? This is why we needed to get this done as soon as possible! It took five days to get this warrant! In those five days, they’ve managed to evade us!” She took a breath and was about to continue her tirade, when Alistair pulled her aside.

“Agent Sanchez, control your anger,” he said calmly. “I know that you are frustrated, but yelling at the poor man will not help the situation any.”

Lydia felt the anger drain out of her at his logic. “I know, but I don’t know how much more Cory can take. I feel like she is teetering on the brink of a true depression.”

Alistair nodded. “I understand your concern, but by the looks of the house, they have been gone for a while.” He sighed. “It is as I feared. I found them too late and Montoya has left Spain. I can feel that in my bones.”

“So, what do we do?” Lydia asked. “I’ve been here for two weeks. Missed both Christmas and New Years, only to go home empty handed?” She paused for a second. “It’s not that I’m upset with missing my family and friends, but I am really worried about her, Alistair.”

Alistair nodded. “Give me a couple of days. Stay here and let’s see if I can get a lead on where they are.”

Lydia nodded. “That’s fair. In that case, I’m going back to the hotel and going to sleep.”

\----------------------------------

Two days later, Lydia was sipping a drink at the bar when Alistair walked up to her. She noticed the glint in his eyes. “You found them?” she asked, trying not to get her hopes up.

“It’s possible. I think they might be in Portugal. Willing to travel a bit more?”

Lydia smiled. “Of course. When do we leave?”

“Three hours.”

“Let me call Cory and I’ll be ready to go,” Lydia stated before returning to her room to pack and make her phone call.

\----------------------------------

Alexis felt Montoya’s tight grip on her arm, preventing her from escaping in the busy airport. He’d already told her that if she tried to get away, he would hunt down her entire family and eliminate them. She wasn’t willing to take the risk, so she followed him complacently. 

She looked around tiredly, her eyes slightly blurry from lack of sleep. They had been traveling for close to twenty-four hours and she was exhausted. She couldn’t even appreciate the myriad of people surrounding them. She was to the point that she wasn’t even sure what country they were in. Over the previous two weeks, since Christmas, they had been to Tangier, France and Monaco. She sighed as Montoya led her out of the airport and into yet another car.

\----------------------------------

Cory stared down at her cell phone after Lydia had hung up. Emotions were choking her, and she felt like the darkness had gotten even closer. Closing her eyes she remembered Lydia’s words. _“We were too late to catch them in Spain, but we have a lead in Portugal, so we’re heading out there. Keep your chin up. We’ll find her, Cory. I promise.”_

Cory shook her head before lying down on the couch trying to catch the sleep that was eluding her. Every since she had broken down in her office, she felt like she was walking on eggshells around Danny. He was trying to be supportive and short of throwing him out of the apartment, there wasn’t a way to get him to leave her.

As she closed her eyes, she felt the exhaustion catch up with her and within moments, she was fast asleep.

_Cory stretched luxuriously in the bed, enjoying the decadence of sleeping in. She smiled when the door opened and Danny walked in, carrying breakfast. “Good morning, Mr. Messer,” she said softly._

_“Good morning, Mrs. Messer. Gawd, I can’t believe we are really married,” he said with a smirk._

_Cory laughed. “I know. It seems so silly that we put this off for so long.”_

_Danny smiled back before raising the tray up slightly. “You hungry?”_

_Cory got a twinkle in her eyes. “Not for food,” she said impishly and was immediately rewarded by Danny putting the tray on the dresser and jumping into bed with her._ Lord, his hands are magic, _she thought before becoming distracted by a small noise. “Danny?” she said, grabbing his wandering hands and bringing them to a halt. “Wait, I heard something.”_

_Danny stopped immediately, before grabbing his pajama pants from the floor. “I’ll go investigate.”_

_Cory quickly followed him out of the bed. “Wait, I’ll come with you,” she said grabbing her robe and the Glock out of her bedside table. She shook her head as Danny walked out of the room without her or his gun. Just as she put her clip in shots rang out._

_Her heart was in her throat as she rushed out of the bedroom, to find Danny lying in a pool of his own blood, with Montoya standing over him. Her mind shut down as her body reacted instinctively. She fired two shots, both straight into Montoya’s heart before rushing to Danny’s side._

_“Danny? Danny? Can you hear me?” she pleaded as she felt for a pulse that wasn’t there. Quickly she began CPR, trying to breathe life back into his body. “No! You can’t do this to me!” she screamed as she continued the chest compressions._

Cory awoke in a cold sweat. She shook her head, trying to clear the nightmare out of her head. She was trembling as she made her decision. _I have to make Danny leave me. I can’t let him die._

\----------------------------------

Danny sighed in resignation as he tapped out a set of numbers on his cell phone. “Hey, it’s me. Can you meet me? I really need to talk to someone. Thanks,” he said as he closed his phone and turned to walk out of the building.

Twenty minutes later, he was sitting in a small café, watching for the familiar black haired figure to arrive.

Taylor rushed to the table five minutes after Danny has sat down. “Hey, Danny. What’s going on?”

Danny sighed as he looked at her. He was at the end of his rope and he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to talk to the rest of the team, so Taylor’s offer to talk was a blessing. “I don’t know, Tay. Cory keeps pulling away.” He sighed again, not really comfortable talking about his feelings with her. “We’ve put off the wedding until we can find Alexis, but she doesn’t even talk to me anymore. Seriously, we haven’t said more than a few words to each other since Christmas. I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Taylor looked at him, concern for both of them shining in her eyes. “Have you tried talking to her about the dreams?”

Danny snorted. “Yeah, except she tells me that we have to break up because she keeps dreaming that I die and Montoya’s the one that kills me!”

Taylor looked up in shock at that. “What? Does she think it’s a vision?”

Danny nodded. “I think so.”

Taylor just shook her head. “Listen, let me do some checking with Maddy and see if I can get any info. I’ll give you a call a little later tonight,” she said as she got up from the table to leave.

\----------------------------------

Taylor waited until she got home before calling out to Maddy. “Madeline! Get your pasty ghost butt down here, now!”

Her dead friend appeared quickly and looked at Taylor with a question in her eyes. “What’s up chica?”

“What is going on with Cory?” Taylor asked bluntly.

Maddy blinked for a second before responding. “Honestly? I don’t know.”

Taylor shut her eyes. “Then I need to talk to Armando.”

Maddy looked at her before nodding slowly. Within moments, Cory’s dead friend was standing in her apartment.

“Taylor,” he said with a question in his voice.

“Armando? Can you please tell me what’s going on with Cory and her visions?”

Armando shook his head with a confused look on his face. “The ones about Alexis?”

Taylor shook her head. “No, the ones about Danny.”

Armando looked at her. “What visions about Danny? She’s not being sent visions about Danny. The only ones she’s being sent are about Alexis and I can’t release any information about that. That’s for her to tell.”

“No,” Taylor said. “She’s having visions about Danny being killed by Montoya. She’s freaking out over it and they are about to cause their relationship to disintegrate.”

“I promise you, she is not being sent those visions. I get shown every single vision that she gets, so if she has questions she can come to me.” He shuddered slightly. “I wouldn’t want to be getting those visions. Some of them are quite graphic.”

Taylor looked at him, comprehension coming to her eyes. “I think I might understand,” she started. “She almost died, then she gets kidnapped and Alexis off the radar. She’s in a downward spiral and she jumping at shadows.”

Armando nodded. “It’s entirely possible. All she had to do was ask me, but she keeps ignoring me.”

“Okay,” Taylor said as she started to plan. “I’ll talk with her. See if I can make her see the light. Thanks, Armando.”

“No problem. Watch out for her, Taylor. It could be a rough couple of months,” he said seriously before disappearing.

Maddy looked at Taylor, sensing that she had something up her sleeve. “So, what are you going to do?”

Taylor just smirked. “Just leave that to me,” she stated with a smile.


	61. Days Go By

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves the attention. :D The song title is from Dirty Vegas.

Chapter 61.

** Days Go By **

When Danny got back from meeting with Taylor, he found Cory staring aimlessly at her hands. “Cory? Are you okay?” he asked her quietly.

Cory shook her head, not wanting to meet his eyes. “No, I’m not. I can’t do this anymore, Danny,” she said quietly with resignation in her voice. “I’m leaving. I’m moving out of the apartment.”

Danny felt ice drop into his stomach. “What? Why?”

“I can’t watch you die at my expense.”

Danny felt his anger snap. “Damn it, Cory! I’m tired of this. You’ve gotta quit yankin’ my chain! First you say you love me and now you want to leave me cuz ya don’t want me to die! That doesn’t make sense,” he raged. Cory opened her mouth to cut him off, but he held up his hand. “No, let me finish. Both of us have dangerous jobs. If it’s not Montoya, then it will be someone else. If you go running at every shadow, we will never be happy.”

Cory just shook her head. “This is different, Dan.”

“No, it’s not. Don’t let what happened to you with Ortiz color your point of view, _bella_. I’m not James and you’re not the same person that you were then.” He paused. “I know you’re scared, sweetheart, but you can’t let that fear rule your life.” He got back up again and began to walk towards the door. “Tell you what; I’m going to take a quick walk while you decide what you want to do. If you want, I’ll even move into the spare bedroom,” Danny said quietly, trying to hide the desperation that he was feeling.

Cory didn’t say anything and finally Danny walked out of the apartment.

\----------------------------------

Close to two months had passed since their final argument and despite Danny’s attempts, Cory had shut him out. He’d been talking to Taylor and she confirmed that Cory wasn’t even taking her calls anymore. He smiled as he remembered Taylor ranting at him. _“It’s not like I’m even pressing her on the issue, which I will, but she breaks every lunch date that we set!”_ That was what prompted the current plan. An intervention of sorts. Danny was taking a long lunch and was meeting Taylor at their apartment, which Danny and Cory were sharing like roommates who didn’t like each other.

He shook his head as he got out of the SUV on this lunch break, seeing Taylor waiting for him in front of the building. “You sure about this, Taylor?” he asked, a little worried.

Taylor smiled as she shook her hair back behind her. “It’s the only way, Danny. If this doesn’t make her see the light then I don’t know if anything else will,” she returned with a smile.

Danny nodded as he held the door open for her. They rode up the elevator in silence. As they walked towards the door, Taylor looked at him carefully. “I promise, Danny. I’ll do everything in my power to get her to see what she’s done.”

Danny smiled. “Thanks, Taylor. I really do appreciate it,” he said as he opened the door. “Just lock the door behind you and if things don’t go well, call me and I’ll come pick you up.”

Taylor smiled. “I’ll be okay. Cory wouldn’t hurt me.” She laughed a little. “Go back to work, Danny. I’ll take care of this.”

Taylor watched Danny leave, not feeling as confident as she had projected. She sighed, settling herself on the couch to wait for Cory to get home from work.

She didn’t have to wait long. No more than an hour after she had arrived, Taylor heard the sound of a key in a lock. When she watched Cory walk in, her heart broke to see how depressed she looked.

Cory looked up to find Taylor staring at her. “Taylor?” she said tiredly. “Why are you here and how the hell did you get in?”

Taylor sighed. “I’m here because you kept refusing to meet me for lunch. I’m tired of it, Cory. You’ve abandoned your friends, who can help you out through this time. So I’m here to instigate an intervention of sorts.”

Cory looked around, noticing that they were the only two people in the apartment. “What?”

Taylor glanced at Cory before calling out for Maddy, Aiden and Armando. She glanced back at Cory. “Cory, you need to listen to Armando. You’ve been avoiding him for longer than you’ve been avoiding Danny and me.”

Cory shook her head. “No, I haven’t!” she denied vehemently. “I’ve just been busy. It hasn’t been easy with Lydia gone the majority of the time. She’s been with Interpol more often than with the FBI. She’s been back now for almost a month and no leads on Mom.”

Taylor rolled her eyes. “That’s BS and you know it, Cory. You are burying yourself in work to try to avoid what you’re feeling. Look at where that’s gotten you. You and Danny are barely talking, you haven’t been out with Stella, Lindsay or I since the Policeman’s Ball. Is this really working?”

She paused, gathering her thoughts to trying to bring Cory around. “Look. Danny told me about the dreams you’ve been having about him getting killed by Montoya. That’s why Armando is here. Talk to him, Cory.”

Cory looked at Taylor, defeated. “Fine,” she spat out as she turned to Armando. “What do you want to talk to me about?”

Armando’s smile was sad as he addressed her. “Cory, I don’t know if you know this, since you’ve never asked, but I know about every single vision you have. The one with Danny being killed is _not_ one. The only visions that the Powers are sending you are the ones about Alexis being killed. Now, you know how things are subject to change and I can tell you that they will.”

Cory looked at Armando, dumbfounded. “You see all the visions that I see?”

Armando nodded. “I have to. That way if you have questions, you can ask me.” He gave her a steely glare. “Why didn’t you come to me? I offered to talk but you just shot me down. You did the same thing that I did when I went after Ortiz. I shut everyone out.”

Cory sat on her couch in tears. “I was just so scared. I can’t stand it if I lose Danny. I don’t think that I would survive that.”

Taylor sat next to her and put a comforting hand on her arm. “Cory?” she said softly. “Both of you have dangerous jobs. It’s part of you. You can’t bury your head in the sand every time you are threatened.”

Cory shook her head. “I’ve been a bitch, haven’t I? God, I don’t deserve, Danny. He’s been so patient with me and all I’ve done is push him away.”

Taylor laughed softly. “He loves you, Cory. He wanted to be there for you and when you shut him out he came to me to help him make you understand that no matter what happens, he wants to be with you.”

Cory felt the darkness leaving her heart for the first time in months. Hope was returning. “Thanks, Taylor. For making me see that I’ve been so stupid. If you don’t mind, I’d like to prepare a special dinner for Danny. See if we can reconnect.”

Taylor grinned widely with a glint in her eye. “In that case, I’ll let you go. Don’t shut us out anymore, Cory. We’re here to help,” she said as she got off the couch and waved bye to Maddy, Aiden and Armando.

“I’ll try not to,” Cory responded, getting up to start preparing dinner.

\----------------------------------

Danny opened the apartment door with some trepidation. He wasn’t sure of the reaction that he was going to get from Cory for staging the intervention with Taylor. As he closed the door, he noticed the classical music playing as well as the scent of pasta wafting through the air. He put his keys on the table and his jacket in the closet before walking towards the kitchen. He stood in the doorway for a second, watching Cory put together a salad before saying, “Hey.”

Cory turned around with a wary smile. “Hey. Dinner’s almost ready if you want to get washed up.”

Danny nodded before turning to do that very thing. When he got back, Cory motioned for him to set at the table before she put a plate of brushetta on the table and uncorked a bottle of wine. Danny raised his eyebrows at her preparations.

“Brushetta? Have you been talking to my mom?” he asked with surprise in his voice.

Cory flushed a little. “No, but I felt the need to make a grand gesture. I’ve got a formal Italian dinner lined up. Brushetta, minestrone soup, salad and spaghetti Bolognaise.”

“Why,” he asked quietly.

Cory sighed as she poured the wine. “Because I’ve been a bitch. I don’t know how you put up with me these last two months. I completely buried my head in the sand and didn’t ask Armando about my visions. He tried to get me to talk to him about them, but I refused.”

Danny smiled. “Cory, _il mio cuore,_ I understand. I just…I just wish you wouldn’t have shut everyone out.”

Cory closed her eyes before getting up to get the salads. When she returned, she smiled. “I was freaked out. I mean, first I get kidnapped, then Mom goes missing, then I start having dreams about her being brutally killed and the last straw was when I dreamed of you getting killed. I…I just lost it.”

Danny reached across the candlelit table and grasped her hand, running his thumb over her knuckles lightly. “I know, sweetheart,” he said softly. “And I forgive you. Just promise that you’ll always talk to me.”

Cory smiled, feeling tears come to her eyes at the easy way he forgave her. “I don’t deserve you, but I’ll spend the rest of my life proving that I love you.”

Danny smiled as he stood up, pulling her with him and kissed her with all the passion he had. When he finally pulled away, both of them were breathless. “Are you really hungry?” he asked, passion making his voice rough.

Cory smirked. “Not for food. Take me to bed, Danny. Take me to bed,” she said with an equal amount of lust in her voice.


	62. Keep the Faith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves attention. :D The song title is from Bon Jovi.

Chapter 62.

** Keep the Faith **

Alexis looked around the boat nervously. The tension between Etienne and Montoya had increased considerably since they left Spain and she had a feeling that more was going on that what she had seen. More than once, she had seemingly caught the men in the middle of an argument that was cut off at her appearance, so she had decided to do a little sleuthing.

Walking silently along the corridor of the boat, she slid her feet carefully, trying to keep her balance with the rocking motion of the boat. She was making her way towards the salon, where she had noticed that both men liked to retire to. She expected it was for a couple of reasons. One, it had a fully stocked bar and two, it also had most of the communication equipment. She paused as she got closer and heard their voices.

“Etienne, why are you really here? Are the bosses unhappy with what I’ve been able to supply them with?” Montoya asked with a sneer.

“The bosses are less than happy,” Etienne responded carefully. “You have become careless of late. First, trying to assassinate the FBI agent, then kidnapping her. You’ve drawn unwelcome attention to yourself, Montoya, and that puts the bosses at risk.”

_What the hell are they talking about? Bosses? So, Montoya is not working for himself,_ Alexis thought as she moved closer to the door.

“I have not harmed the plan in any way, Etienne and you might want to remind the bosses of all that I have given them,” Montoya shot back, holding back his anger.

_What plan are they talking about?_

“You have not _visibly_ harmed the plan, Montoya, but your arrogance has brought you onto the radar of the FBI and one of its most talented agents. You awoke her wrath and I am here to make sure that the fallout of that wrath is contained,” Etienne shot back in a scathing tone. 

Alexis heard movement towards the door and began to scuttle out of sight, her mind full of questions. She still caught the final parting shot that Etienne delivered to Montoya.

“Remember, you are expendable, Montoya.”

\----------------------------------

When Cory woke up the next morning, she was happy and content for the first time in a long time, even though she was still worried about Alexis. She was firmly wrapped in Danny’s arms and she was disappointed that she had to go to work. Slowly, she tried to disentangle herself from him, only to have his grip tighten. Sighing, she knew that she was going to have to wake him up, so she could get ready. “Danny?” she said softly, only to get a murmured response.

“Danny,” she said more firmly and smiled when he opened his bleary eyes.

“Whazamatter,” he slurred in his sleep.

“Sweetie, I have to go to work.”

Danny blinked his eyes a little, trying to bring the world back into focus. Finally her murmured words penetrated his sleepy mind and he loosened his grip on her. “Sorry,” he said without shame. “I’ve missed sleeping with you. I don’t want to let you go.”

Cory giggled. “Trust me. If I didn’t have a really important meeting, I’d be calling in sick right now,” she said as she leaned down to kiss him.

Danny groaned and tightened his grip on her once more and he pulled her closer to him, deepening their kiss.

Cory moaned as he nibbled on her lips, feeling her desire rise before pulling away with a groan. “As much as I’d love to go down that road, I can’t be late,” she said with regret as she gave him a quick chaste kiss and moved out of his arms. “You working today?”

“I’m on nights today,” he said with a pout. “Barring any major disasters, I should be home around midnight.”

Cory nodded as she grabbed her clothes. “I’ll probably be awake. You know me, the night owl.”

Danny laughed as he settled back into the bed, content just to watch her move around the room. “When do you sleep?”

“Who needs sleep?” she remarked cheekily as she sauntered out of the room.

\----------------------------------

Several hours later, Cory was ending up her meeting with the rest of her team. She still had a slight smile on her face from her reconciliation with Danny, which Lydia immediately noticed.

Lydia drew her aside as they left the conference room and looked at her expectantly.

“What?” Cory asked.

“You and Danny have made up, haven’t you?” Lydia stated.

Cory smiled and blushed a little. “Yeah. I’ve been so stupid. I can’t believe that I pushed him away. I don’t know what I did to deserve him…” she trailed off as Lydia’s phone rang.

“Sanchez,” Lydia answered quickly. “Alistair? Yeah. Yeah. I can leave in a couple of hours. All right. Thanks.” Lydia smiled as she turned to an intrigued Cory. “They have a lead. Pretty fresh one, too.”

Cory smiled as she nodded. “Go. I can take care of everything here. I’m going to have the girls for lunch. I feel so bad that I cut everyone off.”

Lydia laughed as she turned. “You just shut down, there’s no harm in that. But it is nice to truly have you back.”

Cory nodded as she picked up her phone, deciding to call Stella and Lindsay to see if they wanted to go to lunch.

\----------------------------------

Alexis walked towards Montoya’s suite with some trepidation. She didn’t want to give him the wrong idea, but she needed to know what he had gotten her into. When she got to his door, she knocked softly and waited.

Montoya opened the door, to find Alexis standing there. He was a little surprised and thought that maybe she had finally seen reason and was ready to restart their relationship. He opened the door and let her into the suite, then motioned for her to sit in the chair. “Alexis?” he queried softly, his hope simmering.

“Alejandro,” she began. “What the hell is going on with you and Etienne? Y’all act like two rival lions fighting over the pride.”

Montoya sat back in shock at her question. He had forgotten how perceptive she was. “It’s nothing. Just business. Nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about.”

Alexis felt a jolt of anger run through her at his arrogant assumption and for once decided to drop her Southern charm. “That’s bullshit and you know it, Alejandro! Who the hell are the ‘bosses’ that he keeps talking about? What the hell have you gotten yourself into?”

Montoya shook his head in surprise. “How do you know about that, my love?”

“It’s a boat, not too many places to hold a secret conversation,” she shot back. “Just tell me what’s going on.”

Montoya sighed and settled into a seat across from her. “I don’t want you involved, Alexis. Etienne is…well, let’s just say he’s not a very nice man.”

Alexis bit her lip, somehow knowing that she needed to know more. She wasn’t sure what was guiding her, but she followed her instincts and walked over to him. Once in front of him, she knelt down and placed her hand softly on his. “Please, Alejandro. I’m worried about this. Please tell me what’s going on,” she begged softly.

Montoya looked deeply into her brown eyes, and while he didn’t see love shining in them like he used to, he did see a deep set concern for him. His resistance to her crumbled and he nodded. “Fine. But not here. Too many prying eyes. Let’s take the wave runners out and we can have a private conversation.”

Alexis nodded and got up, unaware that the entire conversation had been overheard.

\----------------------------------

Cory settled into the restaurant feeling nervous. She wasn’t sure how Stella and Lindsay were going to react to her after essentially abandoning them for two months. She felt horrible for ignoring them and knew that they were going to call her on it. She stared at the menu, not really reading it, but letting her thoughts ramble through her head until she heard her name being called. She looked up and her mouth opened in surprise as Lindsay and Stella made their way to the table. “Oh my Lord, Lindsay! You’ve gotten so big!” she said without thinking about the words.

Lindsay raised an eyebrow and drawled, “Geez, thanks for that Cory.”

Cory felt heat rising to her cheeks as she realized what she’d said. “I didn’t mean it that way…” she began until Lindsay cut her off with a wave.

“I know, but I just wanted to tease you.”

Cory smiled wryly then looked at Stella. “How’ve ya been?”

Stella nodded, her eyes not betraying any emotion. “Good. Are you done burying your head in the sand?”

Cory winced at the sharpness of Stella’s tone. “I deserved that and so much more. I wanted to apologize to both of y’all for being stupid and idiotic for trying to close everyone out. I don’t know how Danny put up with me.”

Lindsay smiled, knowing exactly how she felt. “I understand. You were trying to protect yourself, but I trust now you know that running away is not the answer.”

Cory nodded. “Yeah, I don’t think I’ll ever do that again! But seriously, how are both of y’all doing? Lindsay, do you know the sex of the baby yet?”

Lindsay shook her head as both women settled themselves at the table and picked up the menus. “Not yet. We will in a couple of weeks though.” Her eyes twinkled a little bit. “We have decided on names though.”

“Really?” Cory asked as Lindsay paused, tantalizing her. As the silence stretched out, Cory stuck her tongue out at her. “Come on, don’t keep me in suspense! What have you decided?”

Stella laughed. “She hasn’t told anyone. She thinks that she’ll jinx something by telling us what they decided on.”

“No, I just wanted the whole team to know, and I count Cory as part of the team! So, I can tell you guys now. If it’s a girl then her name will be Kimberly Michelle and if it’s a boy, his name will be Ryan Phillip.”

Stella looked at her. “I’m not to sure about Kimberly, but I love Ryan.” She looked at Cory, trying to gauge her opinion.

Cory shrugged. “I like them both and congrats. When do y’all get to fund out?”

Lindsay smiled. “A couple of weeks. I’m excited.”

“As well you should be!” Cory exclaimed. “How is it being stuck in the lab?”

Lindsay shrugged. “It’s okay. Closer to the bathroom and the baby loves to sit on my bladder, so I’m in there so much,” she said with an eye roll.

Stella laughed. “At least you don’t have to be out in the muck. It’s cold and it’s slushy outside. What I wouldn’t do to spend more time in the lab.”

Lindsay got a mischievous grin. “Get knocked up. Then you can share in my pain!”

Stella shook her head emphatically. “No way. Mac and I aren’t ready for that! But we are considering moving in together. I mean, why spend the money on two separate apartments when we are always together. I think the only thing holding us back is that I’m scared of not having a place to run to be alone,” she admitted.

Cory nodded her head in understanding. “I know what you mean. I was worried about that when Danny and I moved in together, but we’re pretty good at knowing when one of us needs space. You’ll work it out,” she stated simply as the waiter appeared to take their orders. “Now, tell me what else I’ve missed on!”

After placing their orders the two other women proceeded to do just that. Filling her in on the strange and weird cases that had come across their desks.


	63. Sunday Bloody Sunday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves attention. :D The song title is from U2.

Chapter 63.

** Sunday Bloody Sunday **

When Lydia’s plane landed and she disembarked, she squinted until her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight of Spain. She saw Alistair waiting for her and walked quickly towards him. “Hi, you said that you had a big break,” she stated simply.

Alistair nodded as she fell in step beside him, striding towards the exit. “The boat was spotted cruising along the shore. We think that they might be returning to the house we first investigated.”

“Why not have the Spanish police move in on them?” Lydia queried.

Alistair sighed. “Because they are in international waters. The Spanish police can’t do anything and we don’t have the people in the area to apprehend them.”

Lydia sighed, her frustration evident. “So we just have to wait?”

Alistair nodded. “Yes. Let me take you to the hotel so you can get settled in,” he said opening the car door.

Lydia nodded as she slid into the car.

\----------------------------------

Alexis and Montoya sped away from the yacht on their jet skis with the appearance of calm. Once far enough away, both cut the engines and stared at each other. Alexis looked at Montoya expectantly. When he didn’t say anything, she decided to prompt him. “So, how’d you get mixed up with Etienne?”

Montoya sighed. “I was looking to grow the business and a new market opened for weapons. I became his dealer. I was able to get him some rather exclusive items and the people that he works for were rather pleased. Their demands grew and so did my profits, until one day they made a demand.” He paused. “They wanted me to work exclusively for them and like a fool, I agreed. I was blinded by greed.”

Alexis looked at him, wondering just what type of weapons he had been supplying the group of people with, but from his careful words, she knew that he would not reveal that. “So who are these ‘bosses’ y’all were talking about?” she asked instead.

Montoya shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve only talked with two people from the organization. Etienne and an Asian man who never gave me his name. I don’t even know the name of the organization. They are very secretive and Etienne is very tight lipped.”

Alexis shook her head. “Why? Why would they protect their identity so much?” she mused. “Also, why was he so concerned that you put yourself on the radar with the FBI? I mean, from what I’ve talked to Cory about, the FBI already had a task force dedicated to your drug smuggling.”

Montoya smiled wryly. “Yes, they knew about the drugs, but until she got on the case, they had no idea that I was smuggling the kinds of weapons that I was.”

“Why did you go off on Cory so much? Why try to kill her?” she asked softly.

“When I found out that she had become an FBI agent and then saw pictures of her, I realized that there was no chance that she could be my child. I had always hoped for that. I had always hoped that she really was my daughter, but when I saw that she looked so much like your husband, my hope was shattered and I just snapped.”

“I tried to tell you, you know. I knew that she wasn’t your daughter, but you didn’t listen to me.”

He sighed again, the waves pushing his jet ski closer to her. “My only regret is getting mixed up with this group.”

“Why didn’t you get out?”

“Etienne told me that if I chose to break our agreement, then both my sisters would be killed and I couldn’t do that. They don’t deserve to be casualties of my bad judgment.” He stopped for a moment, thinking hard. “That’s why I can’t let you go. Etienne was not supposed to pick you up at the airport. I never wanted you to meet him. But, now that you know about him, if you ever leave, he will kill you.” He closed his eyes a moment. “I am so sorry that I got you mixed up with him.”

Alexis bit her lip as she processed everything that Montoya had told her. She still knew that there was no way that she could love him, but she understood him more now. “So am I. I’m going to miss both of my daughter’s getting married, the birth of my grandchildren all because you were selfish,” she said with some heat in her voice. “I really need to think about this some. I’m going back to the yacht.” She turned the Jet Ski back on and gunned the engine, turning it back toward the yacht, still bobbing in the wave.

When she arrived back, she put the Jet Ski back in its dock and climbed onto the boat wearily. Her heart was heavy and she knew that the hope that she had of Montoya letting her go had just floated away in the sea of his revelations. Shaking her head, she quietly made her way towards her room, but stopped when she heard Etienne speaking in the salon. The door was cracked open.

Her curiosity got the best of her and she paused next to the door to listen in since he was speaking in English.

“Yes, sir. I agree sir. He has become a liability. His feelings for that _American_ woman,” Etienne said with an obvious sneer, “has compromised his judgment.”

There was a pause while Etienne was obviously listening to the other person on the phone. After a few frustrating minutes, he began to speak again. “Yes, sir. If we are going to bring chaos, then I agree that he must be eliminated and with him the woman.” There was a short pause. “Yes, sir. I will extract the information from the woman before I kill her. I think I’ll make it look like a lover’s quarrel,” he said with a cold laugh.

Alexis felt chills run down her spine at his words. _I’ve got to warn Alejandro about this. We must escape!_ She began to creep down the hall, trying to get to her room, so that she could try and plan an escape. She was almost to her room, when a hand clamped down on her shoulder. She was pulled around and stood face to face with Etienne.

“Curiosity killed the cat, Madame, and it will be the death of you as well,” he sneered. “I knew you were eavesdropping and I can see that your mind is working overtime to think of an escape, but that is impossible,” he said calmly before backhanding her.

She heard his evil laugh as the stars in her vision turned to black and she lost consciousness.

\----------------------------------

Lydia stared at the surveillance pictures. “You’re right, Alistair. It is the same yacht and he must know that we are on to him since he is staying in international waters. The question is how much in the way of supplies do they have? Do you know when they docked last?”

Alistair shook his head. “It’s been at least three days. That’s when we picked up the trail on them. However, a boat that size could possibly stay at sea for months without stopping for supplies.”

Lydia furrowed her brow. “So why then do they hover just out of reach? That’s what is puzzling me. I mean, one hundred yards closer and they would be in Spanish waters and we would be able to pick them up.”

“I’m not sure, Lydia. That is what has everyone confused. I have the feeling that there is more to this than meets the eye.”

“I agree and I think it’s time that we have twenty-four hour surveillance on them. Is that even possible?”

Alistair nodded. “Yes, I have series of boats that are going to keep up the surveillance with both video and still pictures. I was just waiting on your opinion before deploying them.”

“Good. The sooner that we have this surveillance, the better.”

Alistair smiled as he picked up the phone and ordered the boats into position.

\----------------------------------

Alexis climbed back to consciousness with a groan. Slowly, she became aware of her surroundings, realizing that she was in a small room within the bowels of the yacht. She became conscious of the duck tape covering her mouth and the hardness of the wooden chair she was tied to. As the fog cleared from her brain, she realized that Etienne was no where in sight.

She looked around, making sure she was alone and began to try to wiggle out of the ropes that bound her to the chair. She bit back a hiss of pain as the rope but painfully into the skin of her wrists. She felt blood begin to trickle down her wrists, making the rope slick. She was about to wriggle free when the door opened up. Her eyes quickly focused on the door as she watched Etienne walk in and she shot him a glare.

Etienne calmly closed the door behind and walked over to her, taking the tape off of her mouth.

As soon as the tape was off, Alexis growled, “Let me go you bastard!”

His cold laugh filled the small room. “I think that you know that is impossible, Madame. Now we can do this one of two ways. You can tell me what I need to know freely and I’ll make your death a painless one.”

“Like that will ever happen,” she retorted.

Etienne’s eyes grew cold. “Fine. Option two, you will tell me what I need to know and it will be very painful for you,” he returned.

She glared at him again. “How about option three. I don’t tell you anything and you let me go.”

Etienne laughed. “That, Madame, is impossible. So which option will it be?”

“Go to hell in a gilded chariot, Etienne. I refuse to tell you anything.”

“Fine. Option number two it is,” he returned in a business like fashion as he pulled a gleaming knife out from behind his back.

Alexis started to struggle in earnest, hoping to get her hands free so she could fight him off, but he noticed and backhanded her again. Stars danced in front of her eyes as her head snapped to the left. She tasted the metallic tang of blood in her mouth. She focused her gaze back on him, hatred shining in them, before screaming out in pain as the knife entered her shoulder.

“Tell me. What are your daughter’s weaknesses?” he queried.

“Screw you,” she spat back.

“Wrong answer,” he said as the knife slashed her skin again.

“What. Are. Your. Daughter’s. Weaknesses.”

“Why in the hell do you want to know, Etienne? You’re going to kill me no matter what, so why is Cory important?” she asked, trying not to scream as pain flooded her body.

“She is the key to bypassing some of the security that your beloved America has instigated since September, 11. Plus, she is the one person in the world that could possibly put everything together.” He grinned as he ran the knife, without cutting her, along the skin of her throat.

Alexis tried not to flinch. She hoped to keep him talking long enough to escape death. “Why? Why her? Why is she so important?” she implored him.

“She knows too much. She needs to be eliminated and has proven hard to kill, as Montoya found out.”

Alexis shook her head, unable to comprehend why someone like him was scared of Cory, but knowing that she could never divulge the information to him. “I’ll never tell you. You can never break me,” she returned in an equally cold voice.

“Then you die, painfully,” he sneered before sinking the knife into her other shoulder. Alexis watched in horror as he withdrew the knife again, her blood decorating the blade. She watched in slow motion as the blade began its descent to towards her throat and knew that she was about to die.

Just before the blade touched her skin, the door flew open to reveal an enraged Montoya. “Get the hell away from her!” he roared.

Etienne flinched but held the knife firm in his hand as he turned to face Montoya. “No. She knows too much, Montoya. She must die.”

Montoya advanced on Etienne, like a leopard advancing on his prey. The two men circled each other carefully, before Montoya made a move to disarm Etienne with a carefully placed kick to his hand. The knife clattered across the floor, coming to a rest underneath a table near the wall.

Etienne sneered as he ducked the jab that Montoya threw.

Alexis watched in horror as the two men’s blows began to land in earnest, both men landing them with ferocity. Silently she cheered on Montoya as he began to get the upper hand, Etienne’s slight build handicapping him. Montoya punched Etienne again, snapping his head back which caused Etienne to lose his balance and crash into the table. He didn’t move.

Montoya rushed to Alexis’ side and began to untie her, worried about the amount of blood that he saw staining her clothes. He began to curse under his breath in Spanish as he saw she was starting to lose consciousness. “Alexis? Sweetheart, stay with me. Come on, let’s get you off this boat,” he said, finally freeing her from the rope.

Alexis slumped down in the chair as she felt darkness being to envelope her again. She felt Montoya pick her up, before blacking out.

Montoya looked down at her, then over to Etienne, who was already stirring. He quickly exited the room, intent on getting Alexis to safety before returning to finish off Etienne. On his way to the upper decks, he ran across one of his men. Quickly he said, “Take her and the boat and get as far away from here as you can. Try to make it to shore.”

The young mad nodded and followed Montoya to the upper deck. They carefully loaded Alexis onto the boat, being careful not to cause her wounds to start bleeding again. Montoya watched as the boat left and once he was sure that she was safe, he made his way back to the room, only to find it empty.

Shocked he began to search the boat for Etienne, room by room. He had made it to the engine room, when he heard an ominous beeping. He looked behind the some boxes and what he saw made his blood run cold. A bomb.

He began run out of the room, thankful that Alexis was safe.

Alexis awoke to a huge explosion. She sat up, her heart in her throat, not registering the pain that the movement caused. She watched the yacht as a secondary explosion rocked the burning yacht, the shockwave throwing her back to the floor of the speedboat. She never realized that she was screaming out Alejandro.


	64. Catharsis of Sufferance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here’s the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves attention. :D The song title is from Darling Violetta and most people know it as the theme song to the TV show Angel.

Chapter 64.

** Catharsis of Sufferance **

Lydia was watching the live video feed from the boat when she noticed two figures walking quickly on the deck. Quickly, she radioed to have them focus in on the figures and was horrified to see Montoya carrying an unconscious Alexis and a younger man putting her on a speedboat. She watched as the boat began to drive towards the shore and Montoya disappeared back onto the boat.

The explosion that happened mere moments later, shocked even the seasoned agent. She gasped in horror as the boat was engulfed in flames. She reacted instantly, calling for the boats to intercept the speedboat.

She grabbed her phone as she ran out of the room, almost running into Alistair. “Alistair, the boat just exploded! We’ve got to get to the docks,” she called out as she ran past him.

Alistair turned in shock at her words and with a speed that belittled his age, raced after her. They ran into the sunlight, squinting as they jumped into a car and rushed to the docks.

When they arrived there was already an ambulance screeching to a halt behind them. The team in the surveillance boat had called him in when seeing the condition that Alexis was in. Lydia and Alistair waited impatiently for the boat to make its way back to the dock and when it arrived, Lydia had to smother a cry of distress. Blood stained the front of Alexis’ shirt and her skin was pale. “Jesus, what happened to her?” she muttered under her breath.

One of the Spanish policemen on the boat answered her. “The man who was driving the boat doesn’t know. The only thing that he could tell us was that Montoya rushed up the stairs with her in his arms, instructed him to get her to safety and then disappeared back onto the boat. Moments later it exploded.”

Lydia shook her head. “Was she conscious when you arrived?”

The cop shook his head. “No, that’s why we called for the ambulance. We discovered several stab wounds on her torso.”

Lydia nodded as she ran towards the ambulance, hoping to be able to ride to the hospital with her.

\----------------------------------

Cory had just left church when she felt her cell phone vibrating. She looked at the caller ID and quickly answered, “Hey, Lydia. What’s up?”

Across the distance, she could hear Lydia taking a deep breath. _“We’ve got your Mom.”_

“What!” Cory screeched, excitement causing her to yell much to the surprise of the people around her. “That’s great news!”

_“Umm…yeah, it is,”_ Lydia finally responded.

Cory felt her heart drop. Her voice lowered to a whisper as she dared to ask, “Is she dead?”

_“No, she’s not, but she is in the hospital. She was taken off the boat with stab wounds and then the boat exploded. We suspect that Montoya is dead, but she’s the only one that knows what happened on that boat.”_ Lydia sighed. _“I won’t lie, she lost a lot of blood, but the doctors are hopeful that she’ll wake up soon.”_

“Oh, God,” Cory muttered, trying to process everything that Lydia had told her. “Umm…keep me in the loop. Should I fly over there?”

_“Not yet. Let’s give it a day and see if she comes out of it. If she does, we’ll be on the first plane home after the doctor’s clear her. I’ll call you if anything changes. I promise.”_

Cory responded in shock. “Okay. Thanks,” she said as she hung up the phone and stared into space until Danny made his way out of the church.

“Cory? _Bella?_ Are you okay?” he asked, noticing her distracted look.

Cory blinked, surprised to see Danny standing in front of her. “Lydia just called. They have Mom, but she’s in the hospital. She was stabbed, Montoya is dead and no one knows why.”

Danny stared at her, sensing that she was still in shock from the phone conversation. Gently he grabbed her arm and steered her towards the car, so he could take her home.

\----------------------------------

When Alexis awoke, she was blinded by the bright florescent lights. She tried to sit up, but groaned at the stabbing pain in her shoulders.

Lydia opened her eyes at the sound of Alexis’ groan. “Alexis? You’re awake!” she exclaimed as she quickly pressed the nurses call button.

Alexis turned her head at the voice in surprise. She blinked before finally recognizing the dark haired woman sitting next to the bed. “Agent Sanchez?” she asked in confusion. “Where am I?”

“You’re in the hospital,” Lydia responded as a nurse walked in and began to speak in rapid fire Spanish. “In Spain, obviously. She is going to take your vital signs.” Once the nurse was done, Lydia continued, “Do you remember what happened?”

Alexis thought for a moment before the memories came rushing back. They washed over her, causing her to begin to panic as the seriousness of the situation came back to haunt her. “Oh, God. That man, Etienne, he’s trying to harm America, but I don’t know how!”

Lydia saw her starting to panic and laid her hand on her arm gently. “Take deep breaths, Alexis and tell me what happened. Why did the boat explode?”

Alexis looked at her, confusion apparent on her face. “The boat exploded?”

“You don’t remember that?”

“No,” she said before making a realization. “Alejandro is dead, isn’t he?”

Lydia nodded. “From what we can tell, yes. Who is Etienne? We found five bodies on the boat, but haven’t been able to ID anyone but Montoya yet.”

Alexis blinked her eyes and did a quick mental calculation. “There should have been six people on that boat. Alejandro, Etienne and the other four crewmen. There were eight of us total.”

Lydia blinked. “Then we are missing someone. All of the men that we found so far were Hispanic.”

Alexis’ eyes opened wide. “Oh, God. Etienne. He wasn’t Hispanic. I think he might be French, but he was working for some organization that was controlling Alejandro.”

Lydia settled back into her chair and dug out a memo pad from her purse. “I think you’d better tell me everything from the beginning.”

Alexis nodded and slowly began to recount her tale to the worried agent.

\----------------------------------

A few days later, the day before Valentine’s Day, Cory was standing anxiously in the airport, waiting for the plane to arrive. She paced impatiently at the arrival gates until they opened and then searched the disembarking crowd for two familiar faces. She finally spotted them and let out a squeal of excitement. “Mom!”

She darted through the crowd and wrapped her mom in a hug. “I love you! I’m so sorry about what I said on the phone.”

Alexis wrapped her arms around Cory, breathing a sigh of relief that she was okay. “Cory, it’s okay. You were angry and you had a right to be. I don’t blame you.” She sighed wearily. “Right now I just want to sleep.”

Cory nodded and the three women began to walk out of the airport; Cory noticed the look that Lydia had given her. She knew that more was going on that Lydia definitely wanted to talk to her about. She gave her an almost imperceptible nod as they continued to the SUV that Danny was waiting in. They climbed into the SUV and on the drive back to the city, Alexis fell asleep.

Once she was asleep, Cory turned into the seat and looked at Lydia. “Okay, what’s going on?”

Lydia nodded and as quickly as she could, told Cory all she had learned. When she was done, Cory was blinking in surprise.

“Okay, so Montoya was working for some organization that wants to harm America and we have no idea who it is. Great. And his contact for said organization possibly killed him and wants to kill Mom because she knows too much.”

“Wait, it gets better. He wants to kill you.”

“Great,” Cory muttered sarcastically as she turned back around and glanced at Danny, who looked a little worried. “You okay, Danny?”

Danny shrugged a bit. “Yeah, I’m just realizing that life will never be dull with you. Is there ever going to be a time when someone doesn’t want you dead?” he muttered.

Cory smiled and tried to break the tension. “I don’t know. Is there ever going to be a time when someone doesn’t want to kill _you_?”

Danny looked at her. “Okay, ya gotta point. But still, I want you to be careful, at least until you find out more information at this guy, okay?”

Cory nodded and smiled at him. “I’m always careful, Danny. No matter what life is going to bring out way, we can handle it,” she assured him as they drove back into the city. Back home.

**Author's Note:**

> OK. this was originally published in 2007-2008 on fanfiction.net, but as I am re-reading the series to get inspiration for the story thatI have not completed on it, I realized I did not get this one posted on hedre, so here y'all are!!


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